Did US, Israel and Qatar hold a secret meeting on Gaza peace deal? Report suggests 'highest level meeting' happened in New York
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Did US, Israel and Qatar hold a secret meeting on Gaza peace deal? Report suggests 'highest level meeting' happened in New York")
US President Donald Trump (L) holds hands and speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on October 13, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
The US, Israel and Qatar held their highest-level talks since the Gaza ceasefire, meeting quietly in New York to salvage the fragile truce, according to reports. Here's all we know about the trilateral meet.
The United States, Israel and Qatar held a quiet trilateral meeting in New York on Sunday (Dec 7), according to reports. This marks the most senior contact between the three sides since the Gaza war was brought to a halt months ago under a deal Qatar helped broker. According to two sources quoted by Axios, the talks came months after an Israeli airstrike in Doha that attempted, and failed, to target senior Hamas figures. 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," the report suggests.
Steve Witcoff plays host
While the White House is yet to confirm the meeting, Axios said it was hosted by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with Mossad chief David Barnea representing Israel and an unidentified senior Qatari official also present. Qatar, working alongside Egypt and the United States, helped negotiate the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. That truce has held unevenly, with both sides accusing each other of violating its terms.
What was on the agenda?
According to the report, Sunday's meeting in New York focused mainly on how to implement the Gaza peace arrangement in the face of those tensions.
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The strike in Doha on September 9, which attempted to hit top Hamas negotiator Khalil al Hayra and others, instead killed six people and drew sharp criticism, including from US President Donald Trump. After the backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Al Thani "at Trump's urging, to apologise for the strike."
Qatar urges full withdrawal of Israeli forces
On Saturday (Dec 6), Qatar and Egypt publicly pushed for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilisation force to enforce the agreement. Speaking at a forum in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said there could be no real ceasefire "unless there is full withdrawal of the Israeli forces (and) there is stability back in Gaza."
