US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce 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 tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
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Qatar’s prime minister will meet top US officials on Friday and is expected to discuss an Israeli attack in Qatar and the status of talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, which has been under a mounting Israeli assault.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington, the State Department said late on Thursday.
Politico and Axios reported the prime minister was also expected to meet President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East.
The strike was widely condemned around the world as an act that could further escalate tensions in a region already on edge. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned the attack in Qatar’s capital, Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel’s ally, the United States.
Washington also counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a mediator in trying to arrange a deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and for a plan on a post-conflict Gaza.
Trump said on Tuesday Israel’s decision to strike Qatar was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the Republican leader who added that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests. Trump has said he was not happy about the strike.
Trump had vowed to end Israel’s war in Gaza when he took office in January but that objective has remained elusive. His term began with a ceasefire that lasted two months. That ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed 400 Palestinians on March 18.
In recent weeks, images of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including children, have shocked the world and fueled criticism of Israel.
Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and set off a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts and scholars assess the assault amounts to genocide.
Israel calls its actions self-defense after the October 2023 Hamas attack in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage. Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of its war in Gaza.
