During a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, Netanyahu apologized to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, for killing a Qatari serviceman in an attempted strike on Hamas leadership in Doha and promised not to violate Qatari sovereignty again.

The strike, which reportedly failed to eliminate any members of Hamas’ top political leadership, caused a public rift between the U.S. and Israel. The Trump administration attempted to warn Qatar about the strike before it happened and Trump said he promised Qatar that such attacks would not be repeated in the future.

According to a readout from the White House, “Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman” and that “in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”

According to remarks released by the Israeli government, Netanyahu told Al Thani, “I want you to know that Israel regrets that one of your citizens was killed in our strike. I want to assure you that Israel was targeting Hamas, not Qataris. I also want to assure you that Israel has no plan to violate your sovereignty again in the future, and I have made that commitment to the president.”

Netanyahu also acknowledged Qatar’s “grievances against Israel” as well as Israel’s own issues with Qatar “from support for the Muslim Brotherhood to how Israel is portrayed on Al Jazeera to support for anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses.”

Trump, during the call, “expressed his desire to put Israeli-Qatar relations on a positive track after years of mutual grievances and miscommunications,” and the three leaders agreed to establish a trilateral mechanism “to enhance coordination, improve communication, resolve mutual grievances, and strengthen collective efforts to prevent threats,” per the White House release.

According to his remarks, Netanyahu said that the mechanism is intended to “address both our countries outstanding grievances.”

Netanyahu and Al Thani “underscored their shared commitment to working together constructively and clearing away misperceptions, while building on the longstanding ties both have with the United States,” according to the White House readout.

The three leaders discussed efforts to end the war in Gaza as well as “the need for greater understanding between their countries.”

Al Thani “emphasiz[ed] Qatar’s readiness to continue contributing meaningfully to regional security and stability.”

Israel and Qatar do not have formal relations and public high-level diplomatic engagements between their leaders are rare.

From the Israeli side, news of the apology has been met with frustration and scorn from Netanyahu’s political allies and opponents.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich compared the apology to U.K. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler during WWII. Netanyahu’s “groveling apology to a state that supports and funds terror is a disgrace,” Smotrich said on X.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed continued support for the Qatar strike, calling it “important, just, and supremely moral.”

Orit Strock, a member of the Israeli Cabinet, asked, “Did the Emir of Qatar apologize to PM Netanyahu for Oct. 7?”

Yair Golan, chairman of opposition party The Democrats, called the apology “a humiliation” and said that, “In order to beat Hamas, we need to replace Bibi and Qatar.”

Israeli political analyst and author Amit Segal said, “The Qatari scum have not condemned the October 7 massacre to this day. Even if there is a diplomatic need for this, it is repulsive and disgusting.”

Haaretz reporter Amir Tibon and others expressed anger that Netanyahu had apologized to the Qataris before he apologized to Israeli victims of Oct. 7.

Nadav Pollack, a lecturer at Israel’s Reichman University, said that the apology and promise show that Qatar holds stronger influence in the White House than Israel.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz downplayed the significance of the apology.

“Apology or not, Qatar is on notice that Israel will eliminate Hamas terrorists where and when it chooses,” Dubowitz told Jewish Insider. “The overarching message is more important: Get your Muslim Brotherhood cousins to agree to a deal, and release the hostages, or next time we won’t miss.”

Rich Goldberg, a senior advisor at FDD and a former Trump administration official, responded similarly.

“If that’s the worst thing Israel has to do to save face while Qatar acquiesces to U.S. pressure to secure the release of all hostages, let it be the last insult endured,” Goldberg told JI. “There is a cold dark place in hell awaiting all Hamas sponsors, and I expect the Mossad will help them find that place at the right time in the future.”

Both Dubowitz and Goldberg have publicly maintained that the U.S. was likely aware of and approved of the Israeli strikes in Qatar, in spite of Trump’s own public condemnations and denials.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former top Pentagon official in the Biden administration, told JI that the apology “was a useful diplomatic maneuver, likely pre-scripted, to ensure Qatar would do its part to deliver a yes from Hamas on release of all hostages and disarmament. Trump pressuring Netanyahu was necessary, but no less needed was his pressure on Qatar. The apology gave him that leverage.”

Michael Makovsky, the CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America said that “Based on what we know, it’s understandable that Netanyahu felt compelled to apologize to the Qatari PM.  Pres Trump asked him to do it, and Trump has collaborated with Israel in the 12-Day War, and backed Israel on Gaza.”

“But it’s unfortunate, because Israel doesn’t owe Qatar an apology—Qatar owes Israel an apology for supporting Hamas for so many years, by hosting its leaders, funding its operations, offering verbal support, etc.,” Makovsky continued. “Qatar should also apologize for spreading anti-Israel (and anti-American) hate on its al-Jazeera news organization. The bigger question is why Pres. Trump is so favorable to Qatar.”

Dana Stroul, the research director for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Shapiro’s predecessor at the Defense Department in the Biden administration, said that the statement echoes past engagements.

“It’s almost reverting to traditional US diplomacy of facilitating rapprochement between long-standing US partners,” Stroul said. “Recall then-President Obama brokering a phone call and an Israeli apology to Turkey in 2013 for its role in a 2010 Gaza flotilla incident. It also is a critical step in coalescing Arab support for providing meaningful support and resources to post war Gaza.”

She added that the administration “definitely believes it needs Qatar on its side.”
“When you read all of the various statements from the Trump administration about the peace and de-escalation agreements they are  brokering, Qatar is very frequently thanked in these statements for its mediation role,” she explained.