Trump hosts Qatar premier after Israeli attack on Doha

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump hosted Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in New York on Friday, with the Gulf country's deputy chief of mission saying the dinner went great.

"Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended," Hamah Al-Muftah wrote on the US social media platform X.

The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.

The meeting came after Israel's Tuesday strikes targeting the leadership of the Palestinian group Hamas in Doha, which have sparked sweeping condemnations from the region and beyond.

Trump had also expressed strong displeasure with Israel after the attack, saying it was a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.

The attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official, who were discussing a new deal proposed by the US to end the war in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 64,000 people since October 2023. Qatar has been a main mediator in negotiations to end the war.

Ahead of the dinner meeting with Trump, Sheikh Mohammed met US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House.