U.S. President Donald Trump planned to have dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, a White House official said, days after U.S. ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict.
The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks will not happen again.
The official said Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will have dinner, joined by a top Trump adviser, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The session follows 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.
According to reports, they were said to have discussed Qatar's future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
This also comes as Rubio will offer robust support to Israel on a trip timed before French-led moves for a Palestinian state, the State Department said Friday, despite US unease over Israel's airstrike in Qatar.
He will speak to Israel leaders about "our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The State Department said only that Rubio would discuss "operational goals and objectives" with Israel and show "the US commitment to Israeli security."
"He will also emphasize our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home," Pigott said, adding that Rubio will meet families of hostages.
The statement made no mention of the strikes in Qatar, in which Israel targeted Hamas leaders gathering to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the Trump administration.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel's strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance U.S. 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 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 Gaza's population, and set 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 October 2023 attack by Hamas 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.