Qatar will help Trump “pressure” Israel and Hamas to uphold Gaza ceasefire

A Qatari official has told Newsweek that the country at the center of the recently established ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement will support President Donald Trump in pushing both sides to adhere to the truce.

The agreement, announced in Doha just days before Trump assumed office last week, is in its first phase—which constitutes a six-week ceasefire to the conflict sparked by a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023—a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a partial Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-torn territory. The second and third phases that would effectively put an end to the conflict require follow-up talks.

The framework was first proposed by former President Joe Biden in May. But Israeli sources have previously told Newsweek it was Trump’s incoming team that played an influential role in winning a breakthrough after months of deadlocked negotiations, and the new president has taken full credit for the achievement.

Ali Al-Ansari, media attache to the Qatari Embassy to the United States, told Newsweek his nation “appreciates the important role and positive impact of President Trump and his administration, particularly the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff, in finalizing the agreement.”

Now, with the future of the ceasefire uncertain beyond the next five weeks, Al-Ansari said that “Qatar anticipates that the United States, as a guarantor alongside Qatar and Egypt, will continue to play an active role in implementing the agreement.”

“The agreement includes ongoing monitoring by the guarantors through a joint operations room established in Cairo to resolve any violations and address challenges,” Al-Ansari said.

“Qatar will continue to work alongside the United States to support the negotiations, applying pressure to uphold the agreement’s terms, and helping to move to its second and third phases,” he continued, “which aim to secure the release of all hostages, enable delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and ultimately reach a sustainable peace in Gaza.”

Why It Matters

While Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, he also wavered when asked about whether he was confident he could ultimately ensure both parties could uphold the ceasefire in Gaza.

“I’m not confident,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on the night of his inauguration. “It’s not our war, it’s their war.”

And with questions still surrounding the fate of Gaza’s postwar governance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue the war until accomplishing his three objectives, which include the elimination of Hamas as a military and political entity, the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the neutralization of any future threat posed by the Palestinian territory.

Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian National Authority have both stated that only Palestinians could determine their leadership.

Qatar, for its part, has proven an effective mediator even beyond the recent ceasefire agreement. In addition to serving as an occasional conduit for back-channel talks between the U.S. and Iran, Doha recently brokered the exchange of children caught up in the Russia-Ukraine war and the release of two U.S. citizens held in Taliban-led Afghanistan.

Now Qatar is expected to play a role in Trump’s broader foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the broader Middle East.

What To Know

Trump, echoing Biden and Netanyahu, has asserted that Hamas could no longer be allowed to rule in Gaza. While no official plan has been released to remove the group short of Israeli military action, Trump did propose a controversial solution to “just clean out that whole thing” by indefinitely transferring Gaza’s population, estimated between 1.5 to more than 2 million people, to neighboring or other Muslim nations.

The comments drew condemnation from across the Arab world, including from U.S. partners Egypt and Jordan, and among some U.S. allies in Europe, such as France and Germany.

Qatar has not officially responded to the proposal, but it has backed the Palestinian position that Palestinians themselves should be ultimately responsible for choosing their leadership.

“Qatar believes that the governance of Gaza is a matter for the Palestinian people to decide independently,” Al-Ansari said. “No external country or party has the right to impose conditions on this decision.”

Al-Ansari noted, however, that “Qatar’s role is to mediate conflicts rather than interfere in Palestinian governance.”

“Qatar remains committed to supporting the Palestinian people and aiding in the reconstruction of Gaza,” he said. “Our support is focused primarily on providing humanitarian and logistical support, as well as facilitating dialogue among all relevant parties to find the best resolution—one that ensures the rights and safety of civilians on both sides are respected and secured.”

At the same time, he expressed that “Qatar supports a two-state solution as the only viable path to lasting peace and stability.” He argued that “we need to break the cycle of violence and find a sustainable solution where Palestinians and Israelis are living side by side peacefully.”

Beyond Gaza, Trump also faces a wider region transformed over the past 15 months of the Israel-Hamas conflict that expanded as factions of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition opened new fronts against Israel. In recent weeks alone, the longtime Iran-backed government of Syria has fallen to a new Islamist-led administration and a newly established government in Lebanon has vowed to limit the influence of Iran ally Hezbollah.

As Trump formulates his policy vis-à-vis Iran, its partners and other Arab states, Al-Ansari said Doha saw great potential in Trump’s stated quest for peace and stability in the Middle East.

“Qatar is confident that the Trump administration will continue to seize upon and encourage the opportunities for peace in the region,” Al-Ansari said. “Qatar sees on-going potential for collaboration between regional and global leaders to address longstanding issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

What People Are Saying

A readout of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call Tuesday with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani: “The Secretary thanked the Prime Minister for his mediation efforts to secure the release of hostages from Gaza, and for Qatar’s security partnership.

“The Secretary reinforced the importance of holding Hamas accountable, and ensuring they release all remaining hostages. The Secretary also underscored that discussions to advance post-conflict planning for the governance and security of Gaza for the longer-term are vital for regional security and stability. He expressed appreciation for Qatar’s facilitation in securing the recent release of two unlawfully detained Americans held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“The Secretary conveyed his interest in working with the Prime Minister on regional peace and security and exploring opportunities in this time of momentous change.”

A readout of Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari’s press briefing on Tuesday: “He expressed the State of Qatar’s appreciation for the cooperation with the US administration, which was indispensable to reach this stage, noting that the positive cooperation between the two sides extends on many issues, and that Qatar is also working on formulating a joint policy regarding regional issues.”

What Happens Next

If both Israel and Hamas opt to resume negotiations toward the second phase of the deal as outlined in the agreement but in no way guaranteed in practice, the Trump administration will have to draw support from Arab partners, including Qatar, to map out ill-defined details of what the future of Gaza looks like.

Trump demonstrated his ability to win key Arab partners for his first-term 2020 Abraham Accords that established diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, but the deal did not substantially address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has served as the basis for the longstanding yet waning Arab boycott of Israel. Trump’s so-called “deal of the century” proposal that did propose a solution for Israelis and Palestinians was widely rejected among Arab states.

As Trump eyes the expansion of the Abraham Accords to include normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has conditioned such talks on a commitment to Palestinian statehood.

Iran, too, may also play an influential role as it signals both cautious willingness and overt skepticism in finding space for diplomacy with Trump, whose order to kill Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Major General Qassem Soleimani five years ago continues to evoke threats of revenge. While Trump has called for a tougher policy on Tehran than his predecessor, he has also distanced himself from former officials who have advocated for more interventionist policies and has instead hinted at the possibility of a new deal concerning the Islamic Republic’s accelerating nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly put forth his own solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a referendum among both peoples to determine their future.