The US president held talks with Qatari leaders on Air Force One as Washington pressed for the second phase of the Gaza plan.
US President Donald Trump has thanked Qatar for its efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement gaza stripAs the United States begins negotiations on the next phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.
Trump welcomed Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Air Force One on Saturday as the US president’s plane made a refueling stop in the Gulf. A summit in Malaysia.
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“We’ve done a lot together, especially in the last year,” Trump said alongside Qatari leaders.
“What we’ve done is incredible – peace in the Middle East – and that was a huge factor in that, so I just want to thank you.”
The meeting was held with several senior officials of the Trump administration Vice President J.D. Vance And Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel this week to see the top U.S. ally follow up on the deal and discuss details of the second phase of the U.S.-led plan.
Experts say Washington is demanding a deal with several elements Hamas disarmed And the prospect of deploying international security forces to Gaza remains unclear.
Reporting from the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday evening, Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabari also noted that parts of the first phase, including the release of the bodies of all Israeli detainees from Gaza, had not yet been completed.
“This is a point of contention, (with) Israel saying that Hamas has not returned any of those bodies in the last four days,” she said.
“Hamas, for its part, has said it will take more time to enter areas that have been out of reach due to the war and the heavy bombardment that has descended on the Strip.”
Meanwhile, Israel continues to launch deadly attacks across Gaza and block the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians across the region – further straining the shaky ceasefire.
Yet American officials have tried Give a positive messagetold reporters this week that the deal was progressing well, though more work needed to be done.
Speaking separately to reporters on Saturday, Rubio said US officials would get input on a possible UN resolution or international agreement to authorize a multinational force in Gaza.
The US Secretary of State added that he would discuss the issue in Qatar on Sunday.
“Many of the countries that have expressed interest in participating at some level — whether it’s financial or personnel or both — require (a UN resolution or international agreement) because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio said.
“So we have a whole team working on that outline.”
According to Al Jazeera’s Jabari, the message from the Trump administration on Saturday was that Qatar has an important role to play as the negotiations move forward.
“The President of the United States has underscored that without his mediation efforts this ceasefire would not have been possible in the first place,” she said.
“And of course, to move forward, to move from one phase to another, it has to be with the input and consultation of the Qataris.”