Qatar engages with Trump team on Gaza ceasefire – The Tribune

Qatar was engaging with the incoming Trump administration on Gaza after sensing fresh momentum for ceasefire talks following the US elections, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Saturday.

The war in Gaza has been raging for over 14 months, with more than 44,000 Palestinians killed, say Gaza health authorities, as Israeli forces continue their drive to wipe out Hamas and recapture hostages taken by the militant group.

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has traveled to Qatar and Israel to kick-start Trump’s diplomatic push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal before his inauguration on Jan 20.

“We have seen a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal even before the president comes to office and that’s actually made us (try) to move things back and (try) to put it back on track, and we’ve been engaging in the past couple of weeks,” Al Thani said at a conference in Doha.

As per sources, Steve Witkoff, who will officially take up the envoy position in Trump’s administration, met separately in late November with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Al Thani.

Trump returned to the world stage on Saturday to join leaders for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, although it was unclear whether he would meet other leaders apart from French President Emmanuel Macron.