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The U.S. military was unaware of the unprecedented Israeli ballistic missile strike earlier this month on a Hamas compound in Doha, Qatar, until it was already inbound, one of its senior leaders has confirmed. The situation was further compounded by attention being focused on threats emanating from Iran.
In the aftermath of the attack, there had been questions as to why the various highly advanced air defense systems and sensors, both American and Qatari, which would normally provide alert to an impending attack on Qatar, had not provided warning and defense. Now we have a better understanding of what happened from a U.S. perspective.
You can read our initial reporting on the Israeli raid on Doha on September 9 here, as well as our follow-up, which looked at the degree of damage inflicted, here.
Lt. Gen. Derek C. France, the commander of Air Forces Central (AFCENT) and the Combined Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command, was discussing the implications of the Israeli airstrike at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, today.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Derek France, center, Air Force Central Command commander, speaks with airmen at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, on April 27, 2024. U.S. Air Force
“This strike that Israel did against the Hamas target in Doha was something that we had no indications and warnings of, because our surveillance and all our attention was not put on [it],” Lt. Gen. France said. “It wasn’t something that we expected.”
Qatar is a key U.S. partner in the Middle East. Al Udeid Air Base in the country is a major hub for U.S. military operations in the region, which was notably subjected to an Iranian missile barrage back in June.
“I can say that we did not get a warning about this happening,” Lt. Gen. France stressed. “Our systems were the first indication that we had. And then there was discussion at some point with my counterparts in Israel, but our systems noting the attack was underway was the first indication we got.”
The AFCENT boss further confirmed that “while we have exquisite systems and things that can detect a lot of different things, those things are typically focused on Iran and other things where we expect an attack to come from.”
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