President Donald Trump held a dinner meeting with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, just days after a U.S. ally, Israel, carried out an attack on Hamas leaders in Doha.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill Hamas’s political leaders in Qatar, a strike that risked derailing U.S.-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 an already volatile region.
Trump expressed his 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 at the dinner by a top Trump adviser and U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner took place but provided no further details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation following the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance U.S. or Israeli interests.
Washington considers Qatar a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a key mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire 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.
On Tuesday, al-Thani blamed Israel for trying to sabotage chances for peace but affirmed that Qatar would not be deterred from its role as a mediator.
According to Palestinian health officials, Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 64,000 people, while internally displacing almost the entire population of Gaza and triggering a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts and scholars say Israel’s military assault on Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel has rejected this determination. Its offensive in Gaza was launched after an attack by Hamas-led fighters in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli counts. Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Yemen during the course of the Gaza conflict.
