New York: US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari Prime Minister of New York Friday, days after Allied Ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel tried to kill the political leaders in Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tension in a region that was already on edge.
Trump expressed irritation over the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tried to assure Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani became a top Trump adviser, the US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with Potus. Just finished,” said Qatar’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, at X.
The White House confirmed that the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour long meeting that Al-Thani had in the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source informed about the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a broker in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with the strike of Israel, which he described as a one -sided act that did not put us or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Golf -allized. Qatar has been an important broker in long-term ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani accused Israel on Tuesday of trying to sabotage the chances of peace, but said Qatar would not be deterred from his role as a broker.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023 have killed over 64,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, while internal displaced almost the entire Gaza population and exposing a hunger crisis. Several rights experts and scholars say Israeli’s military assault on Gaza constitutes genocide.
Israel has rejected this determination. It launched its offensive in Gaza after an attack by Hamas-led warriors in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli Tallies. Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen during the Gaza conflict.
