Witkoff and Kushner: We felt betrayed by Israel after its attack on Qatar

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, said that the Israeli attack on Qatar made him feel “betrayed” by Israel.

This came in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” as Witkoff explained, “We had no idea that Israel intended to carry out the attack… We woke up one morning to discover that it had already happened—the president called immediately, and Jared Kushner and I felt a bit betrayed”.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, added that the attack on Qatar was the direct reason Trump decided to end the war in Gaza, explaining that “the president felt the Israelis had lost control, and it was time to be firm and stop them from taking actions that would harm their long-term interests”.

Witkoff noted that Qatar’s role was pivotal in the negotiations, as were Egypt and Türkiye, and that the attack “lost the Qataris’ confidence and led to the disappearance of Hamas’s leadership, making it difficult to communicate with it”.

He added, “It was clear how important the role played by Qatar was at that stage”.

The White House announced in a statement on September 29 that “President Donald Trump held a three-way call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,” explaining that Trump “expressed his desire to put Israeli-Qatari relations on a positive path after years of disagreement and misunderstanding”.

The statement read, “During the call, Netanyahu expressed his deep regret for the accidental killing of a Qatari security personnel during the Israeli missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar,” adding that he “expressed his regret for the violation of Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not carry out such an attack again in the future”.

The statement indicated that “the Qatari Prime Minister welcomed these assurances, affirming his country’s readiness to continue contributing effectively to regional stability and security”.

He added, “The leaders discussed a proposal to end the war in Gaza, prospects for greater security in the Middle East, and the need for greater understanding between their countries”.