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- The strike paused indirect talks aimed at stopping the conflict in Gaza.
- According to Witkoff, the strike had a “metastasizing effect” on negotiations.
- The US envoy expressed that Qatar’s confidence in the US was diminished.
WASHINGTON — Steve Witkoff, the chief negotiator for President Donald Trump on Middle East issues, revealed that he felt “betrayed” when Israel conducted a strike last month targeting Hamas officials in Qatar.
In an interview with CBS alongside Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who collaborated with Witkoff on a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the envoy stated he learned of the September 9 attack in Doha the day after it happened.
Qatar is a crucial US ally and served as an intermediary in efforts to end the Gaza conflict.
“I think Jared and I both felt, I just feel we felt a little betrayed,” Witkoff said on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” with the full interview set to air Sunday.
The strike halted the indirect negotiations to bring peace to the heavily devastated Gaza Strip.
“It had a metastasizing effect,” Witkoff explained, “because Qatar was vital to the negotiations, along with Egypt and Turkey.”
“We lost the trust of the Qataris, and as a result, Hamas went underground, making it much harder to communicate with them,” he added.
At the time, President Trump tweeted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the Doha airstrike.
Eventually, Israel and Hamas accepted a 20-point peace plan proposed by Trump, which included hostage and prisoner releases, and a ceasefire after two years of intense and deadly conflict.
Earlier this month, under pressure from Trump during a White House visit, Netanyahu called Qatar’s prime minister to apologize for the strike in Doha.
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