Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to his Qatari counterpart for Israel’s attack in Doha during a call from the White House, the Trump administration said on Monday.
The call to Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani came as Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza.
During the call, Trump expressed his desire to put Israeli-Qatar relations on a positive track after years of tension, according to a readout of the call from the White House.
A trilateral mechanism was agreed to, and both leaders underscored a commitment to work together constructively.
“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White House said. “He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
For his part, Qatar’s premier welcomed Netanyahu’s assurances and said Qatar was ready to continue its mediating role.
“President Trump praised both leaders for their willingness to take steps toward greater cooperation in the interest of peace and security for all,” the White House said.
Earlier, Trump said he was “very confident” of a Gaza deal as he welcomed Netanyahu to the White House for talks on a US-led peace plan.
“I am, I’m very confident,” Trump told reporters when asked if he was confident there would be peace in Gaza. He repeated “very confident” when asked if all parties were on board with his 21-point plan.
Washington presented a 21-point peace plan to Arab and Muslim states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week, and Trump’s main objective on Monday was to try to close the remaining gaps with Netanyahu.
The plan, crafted by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump first term Middle East advisor, Jared Kushner, envisions a ceasefire agreement followed by the release within 48 hours of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The White House talks came as Israeli tanks on Monday thrust deeper into the heart of Gaza City, where Israel has launched one of its biggest offensives of the war this month with Netanyahu saying he aims to wipe out Hamas in its final redoubts.
Previous US-backed ceasefire efforts have fallen apart due to a failure to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas and Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is completely dismantled.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.