Public sentiment is deeply polarized regarding the Israeli airstrike on Qatar. A significant portion of users expresses outrage against Israel's aggressive military actions, describing them as terrorism and questioning the role of Qatar and U.S. involvement. Conversely, there are strong pro-Israel sentiments celebrating the airstrike as necessary for combating terrorism, reflecting a complex mix of emotions surrounding regional politics and military actions.

Israel

Qatar

United States

notmartha70

Country gets bombed.. leader goes to twitter.. what timeline did I end up on??

maufkn_ced

Confirmed by both Israeli and Qatari officials: [https://apnews.com/article/qatar-explosion-doha-e319dd51b170161372442831a8023db5](https://apnews.com/article/qatar-explosion-doha-e319dd51b170161372442831a8023db5)

Js987

When did Qatar start building the machine from Contact?

Electricbell20

Qatar is (was?) an official US ally. They wouldn't have done this if they hadn't been 100 percent sure there would be no consequences.

PacinoWig

Qatar and Israel are not close. How does no one see them coming? Are they using the F-35?

imbored48375

Qatar is a pretty major player in the middle east when it comes to brokering negotiations. I'll be interested to see how this plays out long term.

throwaway4127RB

Saudi TV network "Al-Arabiya" reported that Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya was eliminated in a strike in Doha.

zlex

Qatar isn’t some backwater, it has considerable wealth and a modern airforce comprising of both American and European fighter planes and all the systems that support and integrate with them. There is absolutely no way they didn’t see the Israelis coming and given the US airbases in the region the Americans also would have seen this strike coming. 

Despite the indignation on Twitter, there absolutely would have been some kind of back scratching going on behind the scenes.

rawthorm

Wait didn’t Qatar gift Trump a plane recently?

linpashpants

In this political chaos nobody seems to give a flying fuck anymore. It’s only going to get worse.

fumat

![gif](giphy|qtCUIoD4lka7aWp2We|downsized)

djedi25

If i was Qatar i would want my plane back…

4n0m4l7

He's going to have to give his plane back.

gloe64

logosfabula

Shit, here we go. I thought this was satire. These gulf countries are supposed to be untouchable

Crowseye021

I wonder if we tell them Hamas is in the white house what they would do.

beastson1

I wonder if the Qatari leadership tacitly okayed this. They can't act against Hamas leadership in their country for fear of uproar by the population, but they probably don't like having a very unpopular terrorist group's board of directors hanging around either. Especially one affiliated with Iran. 

This way, Israel gets to look tough, Qatar can shake their fist and condemn Israel, but the terrorists are gone and everyone saves face. 

I know the more likely scenario is Israel being trigger-happy, but I also know geopolitics is a complicated thing.

Rebyll

Gee, you’d think gifting Epstein BFF Trump would have at least gotten you the use of his massive, some say the bigliest-nobody has had influence like this-negotiating skills to keep this-have you heard about Chicago? No, really-5 million people shot this weekend. It’s unbelievable, 7 million people shot….what a tragedy…

Fit-Meal4943

A risky game. Qatar is also a very, _very_ rich country.

UhhBill

gopercolate

Easy out for Qatar.  Getting rid of Hamas this way helps them with plausible deniability.

BigGrabbers


As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)

In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. 

If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.

 For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
 
 We are actively looking for new moderators.  If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA).
 

***


*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*

AutoModerator

th60auuay

Don’t forgot all the trump crypto they bought

RealQ13

Trump probably already had forgotten that they gave him that plane.

der-wischmop

of_no_real_opinion

Yup, he fucked you just like we knew he would. Dump your TrumpCoin, stop ALL gifts and favors. Trump is a piece of crap, you've been warned.

DragonWarrior980

This administration can’t protect shit. They are a bunch of windbags.

FlyingFrogbiscuit

He already got the plane, he couldn't care less.

sonicsludge

dogzi

Trump only keeps people in his orbit that are useful to him.  It’s purely transactional.   

You constantly feed his ego or wallet or you’re cast aside.

thermalman2

Trump has been failing to keep his end of deals up since the person changing his diapers was older than him.

You can give him whatever presents you want, he won’t do you any favors afterwards.  Demand payment up front.  Always.  New York construction guys learned that in the 70s.

aradraugfea

What???? Are you saying bribing a convicted felon and notorious liar doesn't work??????

therealvladimir_0

I could hear the convo now “ But Bibi, why did you do this ? They gave me a jet!”

guiltydonkeypuncher

All the world leaders respect Trump though, right? I mean, that’s what he keeps telling American citizens. Biden = no respect. Trump = bigly respect.

squidvett

The US is not going to protect anybody but Irsael for the next 3 years.  We are not an ally.

Active_Peak4801

Have they not noticed that Israel runs the U.S. Government? It’s one of the few bipartisan things in DC. They call Israel our greatest “ally”, even though we do all the heavy lifting and they do nothing to reciprocate.

jediporcupine

A presidential jet and a massive US airbase evidently didn’t shield Qatar from harboring Hamas leaders either

TheLandOfConfusion

We have stabbed all of our allies in the back aside from the Saudis and Israel.

We betrayed the Afghanis, we betrayed the Kurds, we promised Qatar a US military presence would protect them and then gave Israel permission to bomb their capitol city.

Y0___0Y

Its not just a “massive airbase” CENTCOM is literally in Qatar….

VoughtHunter

ProfessorMusician

Trump was not going to stop Netanyahu from bombing  Qatar , trump wants Gaza city to build his resort and Netanyahu is already clear the pesky builds and people out for him by bombing them with missiles and bombs trump gives him that are paid for with American taxpayers money

CAM6913

Their unhinged actions and radicalism are costing us allies, goodwill and loads of money! They attacked Qatar, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Yemen all in the last 24 hours. They are interested in more war, not more peace.

No more blank check, no more unconditional support for Israel! American tax dollars for Americans, not to gift bombs jets and aircraft carrier group movements to a foreign country

The US gave directly (or spent indirectly) ~$50,000,000,000 on aid to Israel 2023-2025 !!

We could have built 1000-2000 schools for that money

We could have built 2000 miles of interstate highways

We could have replaced 5000 old bridges

We could have built 10,000 new rural health clinics

Or we could have built 250,000 new affordable homes

Lie-Straight

It didn't stop Iran from attacking Qatar either so why would it.

TemuPacemaker

Maybe they should've given that jet to Bibi. 

BLiNKiN42

Because Trump will throw anyone under the bus for any reason at any time.  Especially if he can make money or keep money from it.

Bishopjones2112

Which is probably what Israel wants. The more allies the US has in the region, the less reliant we are on Israel to act as a US ally in the region. The Israeli government knows that public sentiment towards them is shifting, Netanyahu took advantage of it to help swing the election against the democrats in 2024.

Haltopen

Imagine thinking that Israel isn’t a rogue state.

CynicalSigtyr

Bibi reportedly kept the white house out of the loop. Trump gave him an expletive ridden earful.

Buttfulloffucks

Maybe the lesson is don’t harbor grifting billionaire terrorists who are directing a war hundreds miles away?

Armtoe

This submission source is likely to have a soft paywall. If this article is not behind a paywall please report **this comment** for “breaks r/politics rules -&gt; custom -&gt; "incorrect flair"". [More information can be found here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/index/#wiki_paywalls)

*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Qatar: “We paid the bribe. You execute on the bribe. What part do you not understand, Donvict?”

Ok-Abbreviations543

Bribes don’t work when you shield terrorists? You don’t say.

Btw, they did work when Qatar needed the US to break the Saudi siege a couple of years back. Qatar is a fully transactional country: it “invests” money in many countries, companies, and faculties, pushing its agendas, and globally pushing Islam protected by the bribed.

Niceguy955

I hate to say it, but that attack also gives Russia the space to send drones over Poland. 

Trump made us an unreliable partner to foreign nations when he ripped up the Iran agreement in his first term, shared Israeli intel with Russia, tariffed the hell out of allies, etc. So the losing credibility thing is nothing new here. 

porkbellies37

Because the US and Israel coordinated the attacks. 

Anyone believing certain Arab actors were not aware of this is simply naive….such action does not take place without a tacit understanding. 

The old Middle East order needs a complete overhaul and the current players understand certain political factions need to be eliminated to move forward.

Efficient_Resist_287

How have people not figured out that there is no amount of loyalty to Trump that will stop him from abandoning you when he feels it’s convenient?

Aliensinnoh

Seriously, the Trump administration basically told Qataris to go fuck themselves, not America's problem. They would green light the greater Israel plan yesterday if they hadn't already.

JimJava

I have generally supported Israel, but turning Gaza into Dresden and bombing the middle eastern equivalent of Sweden is completely unacceptable.
Stop blaming Trump for every fucking thing (no shit he has plenty of faults, so did the last jackass administration).  This is squarely at the feet of the Israelis.

RedditBlows-1

Better let Israel attack our allies so we can show the world we’re not antisemitic

FlashyPaladin

Most Republicans don't really know what Qatar is.

seriousofficialname

Thanks for the plane but Qatar didn't say thank you and didn't bother to change the entire country dress code to a business-like attire.

ThrowawayAl2018

cjcfman

Read the article. CNN is trying to ignite a war in the US. No Arab nation spoke out against the US. They quoted some expert about this and used this as the headline. The media is manipulating us.

ExcellentBuddy8746

As I understand it, do you all think it is perfectly okay to bomb a neutral state that has also worked for a ceasefire?

This is the fifth time Israel has bombed another state. But at the same time there is outrage that Hamas attacked Israel.

Note that I am not a Hamas supporter, I am just wondering what the thinking is in such a case where one state attacks another without further delay. With the intention of killing some people.

Khamlia

Qatar is duplicitous and can't any longer play the role of mediator. Seems the Qataris have more money than they know what to do with and enjoy currying favour (gifts and safe harbour), buying up overseas assets (their half trillion dollar treasury amounts to over $3,000,000 per citizen), etc. Qatar can't lead without credibility internationally or amongst their peer group of Arabian kingdoms. The Saudis need to step up, cut the Muslim Brotherhood (and therefore Hamas) off across the region (to the extent they can) and make jihad irrelevant. That would open a potential path to peace.

Zionist_Dispatches

Outright terrorism from the biggest source of terrorism in the region

AlternativeMirror207

Qatar agreed to host the political wing of Hamas as a neutral zone for negotiations on the behest of the U.S. They don't really benefit from doing so. Also, Qatar is a U.S. ally and hosts CENTCOM. Israel's illegal violation of Qatar's sovereignty makes a mockery of U.S. defense guarantees. We have a national defence alliance with Qatar and promise their security, but since we allow Israel to act with impunity, the world has effectively lost faith in America (and Israel) as good faith actors and reliable partners.

URcobra427

The US has all kinds of military detection equipment in the Middle East. It is plain ignorance to think that they were unaware of Israel fighters on their way to Qatar only 10 minutes "after" they struck Qatar. This was a planned attack by both Israel and Trump. It would not surprise me if the US didn't set it up with the lure of a proposed peace negotiation as bait.

Experienceisalmighty

**Qatar’s double game is unraveling.** For years, they’ve poured billions into American institutions, activist movements, and regional posturing—all to maintain an image they never truly believed in. Behind the scenes, Hamas has been bleeding them dry, and now Qatar’s patience has snapped.

You don’t spend billions with zero return forever. And let’s be real: no strike of that magnitude in Doha happens without Qatar’s nod. Even Trump—unpredictable as he is—wouldn’t have green-lit it without full Qatari approval.

The head of the Hamas snake is gone. That’s not just strategic—it’s overdue.

handydowdy

Why did Qatar fund hamas in the first place? What's in it for them? 

Yo-perreo-sola

You conveniently leave out the fact that Netanyahu is the one who initially proposed the idea of the Qataris funding Hamas and laid the groundwork for the entire endeavor. Not only that but he made Israel an accomplice by guaranteeing the delivery of the cash by having Israeli agents personally escort the courier directly to Gaza every single time. 


Better yet, at one point the Qataris gave Netanyahu the option to stop funding Hamas...Bibi chose to let the money keep flowing cuz he needed a strong Hamas to counter the PA and it all blew up in his face on 10/7...Netanyahu is guilty of treason and should be in prison 


Anyone who doubts these facts simply needs to look at how Israel is currently supporting and propping up the rival militant Jihadi group that wishes to supplant Hamas in Gaza...a group that is affiliated with ISIS and is just as extreme as Hamas. Israel is making the same exact mistake once again.

nexxwav

I disagree. The bombing was in a very nice area of Qatar, where all the embassies and many expats are. 

They also rushed to tend to the injured.

the4thwave

https://preview.redd.it/pu91q7w6haof1.jpeg?width=680&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=d6ca6a47b96937a2fce07db648cb30ad34f4164a

Qatar after being bombed twice this year from both sides

Right_Turnover490

Qatar and the US were 100% behind this. No way Qatar lets an attack happen on their soil with lout it starting another war.  They have the same tech as the US and Israel. They were all in on it.

Ok_Lime1029

Well said… the best term I can think of to describe Qatar is a “frenemy” playing both sides

Jawnny-Jawnson

All GCC leaders know that normalizing relations with Israel contributes to their own country's progress. You'll get nothing but terrorism if your country sides with Palestine. But they can't publicly demonstrate their support for Israel because their own citizens would protest it. So they just let Israel take care of the dirty work and then rant about it on the news like "We condemn in the strongest terms blah blah".

Informal-Delay-7153

I sure hope Qatar was “in on it” - maybe the Middle East is finally deciding to join the rest of the world instead of allowing people like Hamas to keep them trapped in centuries old ideology

blowhardV2

"corrupt thugs" are very opinionated words OP uses. Qatar is a small country, I wouldn't blame them for acting in their own interest and trying to survive by being attuned to geopolitical powers. Also, just because Qatar knows about the attack in advance doesn't mean they have a lot of options to just handle it especially with US pressure mounting considerably amid stalling negotiation.

PerpetualPusher

Turkey, Egypt, Saudi and Qatar are not happy right now. Israel needs to wrap this war up, because it trying to force a regional conflict for Netanyahu to stay in power is becoming increasingly more possible. With Hamas and Hezballah gone, Netanyahu is looking to create a new war

Throwaway547822

so does qatar have a right to self defense?

Medium-Airport-1059

Qatar’s prime minister was visibly angry as he described Israel’s attack on Doha at a news conference today.

“This attack … we can only describe it as a state terrorism,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said. “This is a message to the entire region: that there is rogue player in the region.”

“Does the world need a clearer image of who is the bully in the region?” al-Thani said.

The prime minister added that the US contacted Qatar 10 minutes after the attack occurred, and that Israel used weapons that went undetected by radar.

  
[https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-qatar-attack-09-09-25#cmfcyyuwe00133b6nmz22pu15](https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-qatar-attack-09-09-25#cmfcyyuwe00133b6nmz22pu15)

Key_Goose4193

The US green lit this 100% - and conventional wisdom would follow that the US would not allow it unless Qatar were in on it. However, we are alive during the presidency of Trump so all bets are off!

Fit_Membership_9097

The Qataris are the masters of playing both sides, they have no allies only converging interests, which allows a small country like them to punch far above their weight in a dangerous neighborhood. Most likely they planned this to get a hamass leadership that could be more easily controlled than the current lot

LongjumpingEye8519

&gt;it’s classic Qatari doublespeak. Strong adjectives, zero consequences.		
			
What consequences is Qatar capable of imposing on Israel?

Shackleton214

Reminder: Iran fired missiles at Qatar too. Playing both sides of the fence is unlikely a sustainable strategy.

StreetCarp665

This just seems like total speculation

Imho it seems unlikely Qatar is going to allow their capital city to get bombed in broad daylight because of a few Hamas guys, especially when, as you say, they try to present themselves as a "mediator" in regional politics

RustyCoal950212

All nations in the gulf states are all bark and no bite. Its because they are all pussies who would not stand up to America. It has nothing to do with whether they are sincere about Palestinian liberation.

It_is_not_that_hard

adeadhead

If they don't care about Hamas and the Palestinians, why give Hamas money (the money the US and Israel (Netanyahu) directed them to give to Hamas in the first place and provide a venue for dialogue and negotiations) in the first place?  Why was it in their interest?

MrAnonyMousetheGreat

While it's fair to have doubts about the stated position of governments because they are often self-serving, you can't simply assume this is the case and if this kind of claim was made about Israel (as it has been about the Oct 7th attacks) then fingers would point about antisemitism.

Toverhead

Sometimes all the posturing in politics is really funny. For geopolitical stability, the US had to claim they informed Qatar. Likewise, for regional and internal stability, Qatar had to claim they weren’t informed. Conclusion: Qatar claimed they were informed as the attack was taking place. Lmao. 

&gt; Leavitt added that Trump directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to “inform the Qataris of the impending attack”.

&gt; However, Qatar refuted the characterisation, with a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry saying claims that the government had been “pre-informed of the attack are completely false”.

&gt; “The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Majed al-Ansari wrote in a statement on X.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/9/9/white-house-says-trump-notified-qatar-ahead-of-israeli-strike-on-hamas

Stunning_Boss_3909

I know, like most pro-Israeli supporters, you hate Qatar to your very bone, but if you hate them so much, why did Israeli officials accept bribes from them?

[https://www.timesofisrael.com/qatar-said-to-have-paid-israeli-officials-including-netanyahu-aides-total-of-10-million](https://www.timesofisrael.com/qatar-said-to-have-paid-israeli-officials-including-netanyahu-aides-total-of-10-million)

Listen, the Qatari are no less evil than the UAE or the Saudis, and compared to the latter, far less dangerous.

SriMulyaniMegawati

It boils down to Israel attacking yet another sovereign State, and this time killing the guys that we're coming to arrange a peace deal, ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages. 

More evidence, if needed, that Israel isn't fussed about the hostages and just wants to murder people and steal land. Again.

Darkwhippet

would not be surprised if Qatari elites wanted these Hamas thugs out sooner rather than later. They've overstayed their welcome &amp; weren't serious about winding down the war. Qataris know that the future 10, 20 yrs out won't be oil, it will be knowledge-based &amp; they want forward-looking regional actors like Israel to lead the way.

wip30ut

This is some strong self delusion.  All the signaling coming out of Qatar and the WH right now indicates disapproval with this attack but inability to stop it.  Al Jazeera, the mouthpiece of Qatar, is running articles about the imperative need for the world to band together and stop Israel.   Here's a top headline: "Analysis: Israel leaps over red lines in attack on Qatari capital Doha".

CavemanSlevy

I think it’s clear Qatar is playing a double game here. They were in on the Mossad attack. They were also in on the October 7 attack. They hosted Hamas all these years. However, they also host a large U.S. military base. They play both sides. They try to take over the world by destabilizing it and then try to pretend patching up the damage. They act like the stereotypical Jew from the Neo Nazi and jihadi conspiracy theories. Except - the Jewish conspiracy to start wars, spread chaos, and make money is an antisemitic lie. With Qatar - it’s the actual truth.

BizzareRep

“According to initial reports, the attack led to the death of Deputy Corporal Bader Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, a member of the Internal Security Force, who was on duty at the site of the strike,” according to the Qatar Interior Ministry in a statement. “Several other security personnel sustained injuries.” (c)

vovap_vovap

Let’s not leave out that Qatar has not funded Hamas exclusively- Israel provided Qatar the funds to then transfer to Hamas.

Various-Grocery-4340

This is a poor argument. How is Qatar supposed to retaliate against Israel? Israel has been able to bomb and kill whoever they want to 'in self defence' with impunity, and Israel has the full and almost unconditional support of the USA.

Rare_Opportunity2419

Israel conducted airstrikes in Doha, Qatar, targeting a compound where Hamas leaders were allegedly meeting, resulting in several deaths and raising questions about Qatar's air defense capabilities.

Israel Airstrike on Qatar

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want