Israel has launched an airstrike against the leaders of Hamas in Qatar, expanding its wide-ranging military actions in the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state where the Palestinian Islamist group has long had its political base.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said hitting Hamas was a worthy goal, but the United States felt badly about the location of the attack.
Qatar is a key security partner of the United States and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old war in Gaza.
The attack, which drew condemnation from key regional countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and President Donald Trump's push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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.
Ms Leavitt told a briefing that the Trump administration was notified by the Pentagon that Israel was attacking Hamas in Qatar "just before" and Mr Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it.
Ms Leavitt also said the US military was notified "just before the attack", but did not respond when asked by whom.
"The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar," Ms Leavitt told the White House briefing.
"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar - a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace - does not advance Israel or America's goals.
"However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal," she said.
Qatar condemned the attack as "cowardly" and called it a flagrant violation of international law.
Earlier, Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV that the group's top leadership had survived the Israeli attack.
Two Hamas sources told Reuters that Hamas officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack, which followed an evacuation order in Gaza City, where Israel is waging an offensive to try to destroy the group and its military capabilities in the Gaza.
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 source briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Two US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the US military had been notified by Israel shortly before the strike but there was no coordination with or approval from Washington.
Mr Trump made a high-profile visit to Qatar in May and stayed at a hotel about 2km from today's attack site.
The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting yesterday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu said the attack was "entirely justified" and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the loss of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
"The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind ... I won't allow that kind of immunity to exist," Mr Netanyahu said in a televised address.
The Israeli operation drew strong negative reactionsaround the world.
The European Union called it a breach of international law and Qatar's territorial integrity while the United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called it "blatant and cowardly".
Regional power Saudi Arabia denounced what it called "brutal Israeli aggression" against Qatar's sovereignty. Egypt said the attack set a dangerous precedent.
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 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has also launched airstrikes and other military action in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of the Gaza conflict.
More Middle East stories
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
