World
Israel attacks Hamas leaders in Qatar, Trump says he’s ‘very unhappy’ about strike
Netanyahu said the attack was “entirely justified” and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East with what the U.S. described as a unilateral attack that does not advance American and Israeli interests, Reuters reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the Israeli strike and would be giving a full statement on the issue on Wednesday.
“I’m not thrilled about it,” Trump said as he arrived at a Washington restaurant. “It’s not a good situation but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we’re not thrilled about the way it went down today.”
While Israel defended the attacks as being justified, Qatar said Israel was treacherous and engaged in “state terrorism.” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the airstrikes threatened to derail the peace talks Qatar has been mediating between Hamas and Israel.
Trump said he considered hitting Hamas was a worthy goal, but he felt badly that the attack took place in the Gulf Arab state, which is a major non-NATO ally of Washington and where the Palestinian Islamist group has long had its political base.
The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and Trump’s push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.
Qatar is a security partner of the United States and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza, which appears to be increasingly elusive.
Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. It said Israel had failed in what Hamas called an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team, read the report.
The Trump administration received warning of the attack from the U.S. military just before it took place, Trump said in a statement on social media earlier. He did not say if it was Israel that notified the U.S. military.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump wrote. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV the group’s top leadership had survived the Israeli attack. The airstrike followed Israel warning Palestinians to leave Gaza City, an area once home to about a million people, as it tries to destroy what is left of Hamas, which has been decimated by Israel’s military since October 2023.
Trump said he directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar the attack was coming but Qatar contradicted those comments, saying that reports that it got a heads-up before the attack were false and the phone call from a U.S. official came when blasts were already being heard in the Qatari capital, Doha.
“Qatar reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack and will take all necessary measures to respond,” al-Thani told reporters. Israel killed one member of Qatar’s internal security forces in its attack and injured others, Qatar said.
Trump assured the emir of Qatar in a phone call after the attack that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
The U.S. president also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported.
Israeli officials told Reuters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders including Hayya. Israel is still gathering information on the strike and is yet to determine whether any Hamas officials or leaders were killed, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Two U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. military had been notified by Israel shortly before the strike but there was no coordination with or approval from Washington.
Trump made a high-profile visit to Qatar in May and stayed at a hotel about 2 km (1.24 miles) from Tuesday’s attack site.
The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said the attack was “entirely justified” and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
“The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind,” Netanyahu said in a televised address. “I won’t allow that kind of immunity to exist.”
The Israeli operation drew strong negative reactions around the world.
The European Union called it a breach of international law and the United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called it “blatant and cowardly”.
Pope Leo expressed unusually forceful concern about the consequences of Israel’s strike in Qatar.
“The entire situation is very serious,” he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and said Qatar had been playing a very positive role in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Israel has killed several top Hamas leaders since the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of the Gaza conflict.
On Tuesday, Palestinians living in the ruins of Gaza City were showered with Israeli leaflets telling them to flee ahead of Israel’s effort to obliterate the area and wipe out Hamas, causing panic and confusion.
Israel wants to demilitarise the entire Gaza Strip, home to 2.2 million Palestinians before the war. Many countries around the world have warned Israel’s plan would spell catastrophe for Palestinians.
The plan has also provoked concern inside Israel, where public support for the war has wavered. Israel’s military leadership has warned Netanyahu against expanding the war, according to Israeli officials.
Families of Israeli hostages fear the attack could endanger the captives. Netanyahu says he is acting out of Israel’s interest by moving to finish off Hamas in order to safeguard his country against any more attacks.
Israel has been accused of genocide, including this month by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars, over its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.
World
Trump says US could restart Iran strikes ‘if they misbehave’
Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the U.S. imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been told about the concept of a deal with Iran, but was waiting for the exact wording, while warning there was still the possibility of restarting strikes on the country if Tehran misbehaves, Reuters reported.
A senior Iranian official said on Saturday that an Iranian proposal so far rejected by Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear program for later.
When asked about Iran’s proposal before boarding a flight to Miami at West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump replied: “They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now.”
He added on his social media channel that he could not imagine the proposals would be acceptable and that Iran had not paid a big enough price for what it had done.
Asked if he might restart strikes on Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”
Trump has said repeatedly that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal, while Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the U.S. changes its approach, read the report.
Reuters and other news organizations reported over the past week that Tehran was proposing to reopen the strait before nuclear issues were resolved. The official confirmed that this new timeline had now been spelled out in a formal proposal conveyed to the United States through mediators.
Trump also said on Friday that “on a human basis,” he did not prefer the military course of action and told congressional leaders he did not need their permission to extend the war beyond a deadline set by law for that day because the ceasefire had “terminated” hostilities.
While saying repeatedly he is in no hurry, Trump is under domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the strait, which has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up U.S. gasoline prices. Trump’s Republican Party faces the risk of a voter backlash over higher prices when the country votes in midterm congressional elections in November.
Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal included the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas surrounding Iran, lifting the blockade, releasing Iran’s frozen assets, payment of compensation, lifting sanctions and ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as a new control mechanism for the strait.
The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, but appear no closer to a deal to end a war that has caused the biggest disruption ever to global energy supplies, roiled global markets and raised worries about the possibility of a wider global economic downturn.
Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the U.S. imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.
Washington has repeatedly said it will not end the war, which has led to the deaths of thousands of people, without a deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the primary aim Trump cited when he launched strikes in February in the midst of nuclear talks. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomacy, the senior Iranian official said Tehran believed its latest proposal to shelve nuclear talks for a later stage was a significant shift aimed at facilitating an agreement, Reuters reported.
Under the proposal, the war would end with a guarantee that Israel and the United States would not attack again. Iran would open the strait, and the United States would lift its blockade.
Future talks would then be held on curbs to Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions, with Iran demanding Washington recognize its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, even if it agrees to suspend its nuclear program.
“Under this framework, negotiations over the more complicated nuclear issue have been moved to the final stage to create a more conducive atmosphere,” the official said.
World
Trump says he’s dissatisfied with Iranian proposal as rift with allies deepens
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war, while Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changes its approach.
Trump’s comments indicated the deadlock over the two-month-old war is likely to persist, even as he looks to end a conflict that remains deeply unpopular among Americans, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, U.S. relations with its traditional allies were further strained over Iran on Friday, as the United States announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany. Trump had threatened a drawdown over differences with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday the Iranians were humiliating the United States and that the Americans lacked an exit strategy.
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said recent German comments were “inappropriate and unhelpful.”
“The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks,” the official said.
Though the United States and Iran have suspended hostilities since an April 8 ceasefire, the two countries remain at odds over a range of issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the two sides have yet to agree to a second meeting following a brief summit of senior officials in Islamabad last month.
It was unclear what the Iranians had submitted in their fresh proposal. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has cautioned against expecting quick results.
“They want to make a deal, but … I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the Iranian leadership was “very disjointed” and split into two or three groups.
“They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to,” he said, adding that negotiations by phone were continuing.
Later on Friday, during a speech in Florida, Trump said the United States would not end its confrontation with Iran early “and then have the problem arise in three more years.”
Trump has said Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. He is also under pressure to break Iran’s hold on the strait, which has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Global oil prices eased on Friday following news of the Iranian proposal, coming off Thursday’s four-year high. Benchmark Brent crude was down 1% to around $109.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country was ready to pursue diplomacy if the United States changes what he called its “excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions.”
However, Araqchi added in a post on his Telegram channel that “Iran’s armed forces remained ready to defend the country against any threat.”
Iran has activated air defenses and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive U.S. strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
REPORTS ON PLANS FOR NEW STRIKES
Separately, Trump told leaders in Congress that he did not need their permission to extend the war beyond a Friday deadline set by law because the ceasefire had “terminated” hostilities.
“Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal?” Trump said when asked about his options.
Trump added that “on a human basis,” he did not prefer the military course of action.
The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has led to the deaths of thousands of people. The closure of the strait has increased concerns about the possibility of a wider global economic downturn.
The U.S. Navy is blockading exports of Iranian crude oil. As of Friday afternoon, 45 commercial vessels had been stopped, according to the U.S. military.
The U.S. Treasury said that any shipper paying tolls to Iran for passage, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would be at risk of punitive sanctions.
IRAN SAYS TO BUY DOMESTIC
The war has aggravated Iran’s economic plight, but it looks able to survive a standoff for now, despite the U.S. blockade that has curtailed its energy exports.
In a written message, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on businesses damaged in the war to avoid layoffs as much as possible, Iranian news agencies reported.
China’s U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, said it was an urgent necessity to maintain the ceasefire and that the strait needs to be reopened as quickly as possible. He said he was sure the strait would be high on the agenda in talks between China’s leader Xi Jinping and Trump if it is still closed when Trump travels to Beijing this month.
World
US judge rejects Trump administration’s halt on immigration applications
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that policies that make it harder for people from countries on President Donald Trump’s travel ban list to get green cards and work permits are discriminatory and unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston reached that conclusion as she issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit by around 200 people from 20 countries including Iran, Haiti, Venezuela and Syria who sued over a halt on the processing of their immigration-related applications, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit, filed in December, took aim at policies U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services adopted beginning in November affecting applications by immigrants seeking asylum, green cards and work authorization.
Those policies have resulted in the agency placing a hold on the processing of applications from people from the 39 countries that are the subject of full or partial travel bans imposed by Trump, who has cited vetting and security concerns.
Before instituting that halt, the agency, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, adopted a policy in November 2025 that treats the nationality of people from those countries as a “significant negative factor” when reviewing their applications.
Kobick, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, concluded the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving that policy ran afoul of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s bar against nationality-based discrimination.
The judge said the agency’s subsequent halt on reviewing asylum and naturalization applications was likewise “contrary to Congress’s command that the agency issue decisions on such applications.” She said the pause on reviewing green card and work authorization applications violated regulations governing them.
Kobick blocked USCIS from enforcing the policies against 22 plaintiffs who had provided declarations detailing how they were harmed by them, and she directed the parties to discuss whether her order should apply to the rest of the 200.
Jim Hacking, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling, which he said appeared to be the first by a judge nationally to address the “significant negative factor” policy alongside the separate but related hold on the processing of applications. A handful of other judges have previously ruled against that halt in some migrants’ cases.
“USCIS wants to make it harder for people to receive an immigration benefit if they are from one of the 39 countries, even though Congress has never allowed them to,” he said.
-
Latest News2 days agoGermany to launch online visa system for Afghan study and work applicants in Pakistan
-
International Sports5 days agoATN brings AFC U17 Asian Cup action to Afghan audiences
-
Science & Technology5 days agoAfghanistan launches first 5G trial in Kabul to boost telecom services
-
Regional5 days agoIran’s wartime leadership moves into hands of Revolutionary Guards
-
Sport5 days agoFIFA offers ATN official World Cup Preview Series ahead of tournament
-
Latest News5 days agoGermany deports 25 Afghan nationals convicted of serious crimes
-
Business4 days agoAfghanistan and Shanghai Chambers sign trade and investment cooperation agreement
-
Latest News5 days agoUK sets new limits on Afghan relocation, ends evacuation assistance
