Israel, Qatar and US hold trilateral meeting in New York

Washington - The United States, Israel and Qatar held a trilateral meeting in New York on Dec 7, a senior White House official told AFP, months after

Israeli jets conducted an air strike in Doha,

unsuccessfully targeting Hamas leadership.

The White House official confirmed that the meeting had taken place but did not provide any further details.

Two sources told US news outlet Axios it was “the highest level meeting between the countries since the deal to end the war in Gaza, for which Qatar served as a key mediator”.

Axios also reported White House envoy Steve Witkoff hosted the meeting, with Mossad spy chief David Barnea representing Israel and an unnamed senior Qatari official in attendance.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, helped broker a comprehensive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which remains delicate as both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching its terms.

On Dec 6, Qatar and Egypt both called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilisation force to fully implement the fragile agreement to end the conflict in Gaza.

Speaking at a diplomatic conference in Doha, Qatari premier 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 reported that the main focus of the Dec 7 meeting was largely “on the implementation of the Gaza peace agreement”.

The Israeli strike on Doha on Sept 9 unsuccessfully targeted top Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayra and others in the Palestinian militant group.

The strike instead killed six people and sparked a wave of criticism, including a rebuke from US President Donald Trump.

Axios reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later called Mr Al Thani from the White House “at Trump’s urging, to apologize for the strike”. AFP