Trump to meet Qatari PM days after Israeli attack on Doha

US President Donald Trump plans to meet the Qatari prime minister in New York, a White House official has said, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.

The official did not elaborate on the timing of the meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani or its agenda.

It comes after the US State Department confirmed Qatar's prime minister will meet top US officials to discuss the Israeli attack in Qatar and the status of talks for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mr al-Thani will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington, the State Department said.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East.

The strike was widely condemned around the world as an act that could further escalate tensions in a region already on edge.

The United Nations Security Council yesterday condemned the attack in Qatar's capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel's ally the United States.

Washington also counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally.

UAE summons Israeli ambassador

The United Arab Emirates has summoned the Israeli ambassador over Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster KAN reported.

"Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned the Israeli Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, David Ohad Horsandi," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

She used the meeting to "strongly condemn and denounce the blatant and cowardly Israeli attack that targeted the State of Qatar, as well as the hostile statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu," the statement said.

"Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework," she added, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council regional bloc.

Asked about the summoning, a spokeswoman at the Israeli embassy told AFP that "Israel carried out a targeted strike against senior Hamas leadership who have used Qatar as a base from which to wage war on Israel".

Doha will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit this Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan toured Gulf countries this week to coordinate positions after the attack, his diplomatic adviser said yesterday.

Qatar has been a mediator in trying to arrange a deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and for a plan on a post-conflict Gaza.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday Israel's decision to strike Qatar was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and not by the Republican leader who added that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests.

Mr Trump has said he was not happy about the strike.

Mr Trump had vowed to end Israel's war in Gaza when he took office in January but that objective has remained elusive.

Read the latest stories from the Middle East

His term began with a ceasefire that lasted two months. That ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed 400 Palestinians on 18 March.

In recent weeks, images of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including children, have shocked the world and fuelled criticism of Israel.

Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023 have killed over 63,000 people, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and set off a starvation crisis.

Multiple rights experts and scholars assess the assault amounts to genocide.

The current stage of the war began in October 2023, when Hamas militants killed over 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of its war in Gaza.