Israel, Qatar and US hold trilateral meeting in New York

AFP/APP

Washington: The United States, Israel and Qatar held a trilateral meeting in New York on Sunday, a senior White House official told AFP, months after an Israeli airstrike in Doha unsuccessfully targeted Hamas leadership.

The official confirmed the meeting took place but offered no additional details.

According to two sources cited by US outlet Axios, it was “the highest-level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza,” a ceasefire for which Qatar played a key mediating role.

Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the talks, with Mossad chief David Barnea representing Israel, alongside an unnamed senior Qatari official.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States previously brokered a comprehensive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — an agreement that remains fragile, with both sides accusing the other of violations.

On Saturday, Qatar and Egypt urged the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilization force to fully implement the Gaza ceasefire.

Speaking at a diplomatic conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said “a ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is full withdrawal of the Israeli forces and there is stability back in Gaza.”

Axios added that Sunday’s meeting focused largely on implementing the Gaza peace agreement.

The Israeli strike on Doha on September 9 targeted top Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayra and other Hamas figures but failed to hit its intended targets. Instead, six people were killed, prompting widespread criticism, including a rebuke from US President Donald Trump.

The outlet also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later called Al Thani from the White House, “at Trump’s urging,” to apologize for the strike.