Qatar says meeting on Gaza plan to be held with Hamas, Turkey

DOHA Qatar: Qatar said it was set to hold talks with Hamas negotiators and Turkey Tuesday to discuss US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying Hamas would study it “responsibly”.

The comments come just hours after US President Donald Trump unveiled a plan in Washington calling for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of the group and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

Qatar and Egypt handed the proposal to Hamas on Monday, and “the (Hamas) negotiating delegation promised to study it responsibly,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference.

He added: “There will also be another meeting today, also attended by the Turkish side, with the negotiating delegation.”

The latest talks follow an earlier meeting on Monday between Hamas representatives and Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Doha.

“It is still too early to speak about responses, but we are truly optimistic that this plan, as we said, is a comprehensive one,” Ansari added.

Following the announcement on Monday, Qatari authorities said they were ready to press for a truce in the Palestinian territory following an Israeli apology for its unprecedented strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha earlier this month.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman added Tuesday that the US had given security assurances to the country and Israel had promised not to attack it again.

“The security assurances and the commitments that were offered in the call yesterday (Monday) by President Trump and the Israeli prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) were very clear and were under the guarantee of the US president that Qatar will never be attacked,” Ansari said.

“We are content with the security assurances that we have received,” he said, adding there had also been “a commitment by Israel not to attack Qatar again in its capacity or otherwise.”

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, had led efforts to broker a comprehensive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with several rounds of diplomacy carried out in Doha.