Qatar’s prime minister told Sky News that he is optimistic in reaching a deal, noting ongoing discussions with the incoming Trump administration.
Qatar has reportedly resumed its mediation role between Hamas and Israel, expressing optimism about reaching a deal before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
A source privy to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had travelled to Qatar and Israel in late November in a push to revive the stalled negotiations.
According to the report, Witkoff had met Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The incoming U.S. official also held separate discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Both agreed a Gaza ceasefire is needed before Trump’s inauguration so that once the Trump administration takes office it can move onto other issues, like stabilising Gaza and the region,” the anonymous source said.
The same source told the news agency that the meetings had signaled the resumption of Qatar’s mediation role and Hamas negotiators would possibly return to Doha for a new round of talks “soon”.
Since 2012, Qatar has hosted the Hamas political office at the request of Washington for mediation purposes.
Qatar’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request from Reuters on the matter and no official statement has come out from the Gulf state as of Thursday morning.
The latest report comes nearly a month after Qatar announced that it has suspended its mediation role until both sides show a willingness to negotiate.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s prime minister told Sky News on Wednesday that he was still optimistic in reaching a deal, noting that discussions have already been taking place with the incoming Trump administration.
“I’m always optimistic, I hope this time we can get a breakthrough,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
In a post on his platform, Truth Social, on Monday, Trump vowed that the Middle East will have “all hell to pay” if a captives release deal is not reached by the time he takes office.
Responding to a question on the matter to Sky News, Sheikh Mohammed said that Qatar is already trying to coordinate with the incoming Trump administration over a deal in the Gaza Strip.
“We have priorities to stabilise the situation in Gaza, we have priorities in order to restore regional security and such a statement is expected and we hope that it will work,” the senior Qatari official explained.
The Gulf diplomatic heavyweight has been a central mediator between Hamas and Israel since the onset of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Mediation efforts stalled since the expiration of a week-long truce deal on December 1, 2023, fueling regional tensions.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 44,532 people while creating a devastating humanitarian crisis. The figure shared by Palestine’s health ministry is an undercount of the actual death toll with thousands still trapped under the rubbles.
