Rubio: ‘Not happy’ about Doha strike but it’s ‘not going to change’ US-Israel ties

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a ceremony at the US State Department in Washington, July 16, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a ceremony at the US State Department in Washington, July 16, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP)

The United States is “not happy” about Israel’s airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, but the attack will not change Washington’s allied status with Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday as he departed for the region.

“Obviously, we were not happy about it, the president was not happy about it,” he told reporters shortly before departing Washington for discussions with officials in Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Saturday night, Netanyahu hinted in a social media post that the strike had failed to kill the terror group’s leadership.

“It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have” on the diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in war-ravaged Gaza, Rubio added.

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