Qatar PM has ‘great dinner’ with Trump after Israeli strikes on Hamas in Doha
The two sides also discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region in the wake of the attack
US President Donald Trump had 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 an attack would not happen again.
Israel’s attack placed the US in an awkward position with Qatar, an ally home to the largest American military base in the region and boasting a massive sovereign wealth fund that has pledged to invest billions in the US.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.