Trump meets Qatari PM following Israeli strike in Doha

NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump hosted a dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, only days after Israel launched airstrikes in Doha targeting Hamas leaders.

The Israeli operation on Tuesday sought to assassinate Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar, but instead drew widespread condemnation across the Middle East and beyond, with critics warning it could undermine US-backed efforts to broker a Gaza truce and heighten regional instability.

In a subsequent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump voiced displeasure over the strike and reassured Qatari officials that such unilateral actions would not be repeated.

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.

The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no 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 defence cooperation in the wake of 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 US or Israeli interests.

Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main 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.

Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.

Israel's assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 64,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, while internally displacing almost all of Gaza's population and setting off a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts and scholars say Israel's military assault on Gaza amounts to genocide.

Israel has rejected that determination. It launched its offensive in Gaza after an attack by Hamas-led fighters 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 in the course of the Gaza conflict.