Israel's attempt to kill the political leaders of Hamas with airstrikes on Qatar on Tuesday has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community.

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.

US President Donald 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.

"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 said in a post on his Truth Social network.

He also said he had tried but was "unfortunately, too late" to stop the Israeli attack on the Gulf state, a crucial broker in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war.

"This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me," Trump said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the strikes set "a dangerous precedent", while the United Arab Emirates said they were an "irresponsible escalation".

Jordan and Saudi Arabia condemned what they said was Israel's pattern of violating international law.

Turkey said: "Targeting the Hamas negotiation delegation while ceasefire negotiations are ongoing demonstrates that Israel aims not to achieve peace but to continue the (Gaza) conflict."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also 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.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X that the attack was "unacceptable regardless of motive", adding that "the war must not be allowed to spread in the region".

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attack risked "further escalation" in the volatile region.

"I condemn Israel's strikes on Doha... The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza," Starmer posted on X.

He told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a call that the Israeli attack "represents a flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty", according to a Downing Street spokesman.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also called the strikes "unacceptable" , his spokesman Stefan Kornelius said.

Merz "praised Qatar's mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages", Kornelius said.

"He said that today's Israeli attack, which violated Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity, was unacceptable.

"The war must not be allowed to spread to the entire region," he added.

Pope Leo expressed unusually forceful concern about the consequences of Israel's strike in Qatar.

"The entire situation is very serious," he said.

Israel's strikes on Doha were the first of their kind in the Qatari capital.

Hamas said the strikes had killed six people, including the son of its top negotiator and a Qatari security officer, but that senior leaders had survived.

Responding to the condemnation, Netanyahu accused the critics of forgetting Hamas's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.

"Much of the world, including much of the democratic world, or governments at least, have shamefully, shamefully forgotten October 7th," he said at a US embassy function in Jerusalem.

"But I don't forget, and Israel will never forget," Netanyahu added.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said: "Today's airstrike by Israel against Hamas leaders in Doha breaches international law and Qatar's territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region."

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on X voiced "Italy's support for all efforts to end the war in Gaza".

"Italy remains opposed to any form of escalation that could further aggravate the crisis in the Middle East," she said. (Agencies)