Donald Trump meets Qatar’s Emir aboard Air Force One

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says US to hold further talks in Doha on a Gaza stabilisation force

US President Donald Trump met Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, aboard Air Force One on Saturday during a refuelling stop in Doha.

Mr Trump has embarked on a trip to Asia, but his stop in the Gulf presented an opportunity to discuss the Gaza peace plan and its progress.

The Qatari leaders boarded Air Force One late on Saturday after it landed at Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the regional headquarters for the US military and thousands of American troops.

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Mr Trump's special assistant Margo Martin posted a video of the meeting on X, in which Mr Trump said to Sheikh Tamim: “It’s such an honour to have you on the plane.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been visiting Israel, arrived in Qatar on Saturday and joined the meeting with Mr Trump and the Emir. Mr Rubio said he expected there to be further talks in Doha on Sunday about an international stabilisation force for Gaza.

Mr Rubio said US officials are getting input on a possible UN resolution or international agreement to authorise a multinational force.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level, whether it be monetary or personnel or both, are going to need that [a UN resolution or international agreement] because their domestic laws require it,” said Mr Rubio.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been visiting Israel, arrived in Qatar on Saturday and joined the meeting with Mr Trump and the Emir. AFP

He also said he did not envision a permanent division of Gaza. Under a US-brokered ceasefire for the enclave, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a Yellow Line, leaving them in control of around half of the territory. The US has said reconstruction aid will be focused in the area under Israeli control.

“I think, ultimately, the point of the stabilisation force is to move that line until it covers hopefully all of Gaza, meaning all of Gaza will be demilitarised,” Mr Rubio said.

“Ultimately, the more of Gaza is demilitarised, the more of Gaza terrorism is removed, the more of it is going to look like that green zone – and that line will move as a result of it,” he added.

“That's the long-term plan. The Israelis have made it abundantly clear they have no interest in occupying Gaza.”

The US, along with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, helped to broker the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas earlier this month.

Political leaders from around the world convened in the Egyptian leisure resort of Sharm El Sheikh on October 13 for a ceremony to sign the ceasefire deal. Mr Trump declared “peace in the Middle East” at the summit.

The deal paused, and potentially ended, more than two years of war in Gaza that killed more than 68,000 Palestinians in Israeli attacks and left much of the enclave in ruins.

Mediators are working to ensure the ceasefire holds and that President Trump’s 20-point plan is implemented, with both sides fulfilling their obligations under the proposal.

While largely holding, the truce has been strained by a recent flare-up of violence in Gaza, disputes over the exchange of dead Israelis and Palestinians, and mutual distrust between Israel and Hamas.

High-level US delegations visited Israel this week, including Mr Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to help safeguard the truce.

Israeli leaders have praised the Trump deal that secured the release of hostages and paused hostilities in the strip, but delicate negotiations lie ahead on the next phases of the plan. Issues to be resolved include disarming Hamas and the shape of a new international peacekeeping force.

Following his Doha stop, Mr Trump will head to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders’ summit where trade talks between the US and China will be in focus.

The world’s two largest economies have engaged in tit-for-tat tariffs that have shaken global stock and commodity markets.

The US and China reportedly started talks in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, before a high-profile meeting between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday.