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U.S. President Donald Trump's chief Middle East negotiator said he and senior adviser Jared Kushner felt "betrayed" after Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month, dealing a significant blow to ceasefire efforts.
Steve Witkoff, speaking in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview released in excerpts Friday, said he learned of the Sept. 9 attack in Doha the morning after it occurred. The strike targeted Hamas operatives in Qatar, a key U.S. ally that has served as a crucial mediator in efforts to end the war in Gaza.
"I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed," Witkoff told the program. The full interview is set to air Sunday.
The attack effectively froze indirect negotiations aimed at ending the fighting in Gaza, which erupted after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The assault killed hundreds of Israelis and triggered a devastating military response that has left much of Gaza in ruins.
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Witkoff described the diplomatic fallout as severe. "It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks," he said. "We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them."
At the time of the strike, Trump publicly identified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as responsible for ordering the Doha air raid, writing about the decision on social media.
The diplomatic breach was eventually repaired after intense pressure from Trump. During a White House visit earlier this month, Netanyahu contacted Qatar's prime minister to apologize for conducting the strike on Qatari soil.
Despite the setback, Israel and Hamas ultimately reached agreement on a 20-point peace plan presented by the Trump administration. The deal calls for exchanges of hostages and prisoners along with a ceasefire after two years of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
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