WASHINGTON As Monday night brought news of another devastating episode in Israels U.S.-backed offensive in Gaza a strike on a tent camp sheltering desperate Palestinians key players in Middle East policy in Washington and beyond were sipping cocktails at the Waldorf Astoria, toasting the end of a secretive conference about the regions future.

The evening marked the conclusion of the inaugural Middle East-America Dialogue summit a first-of-its-kind event that some participants say almost totally ignored the Palestinian perspective despite the communitys central relevance to developments in the region.

One attendee noted that only three Arab voices were featured on the conferences stage: Those of the ambassadors to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Morocco. There were no Palestinians.

Nor did anyone meaningfully address their concerns. While MEAD says it aims to solidify the United States critical role in promoting stability across the Middle East, the gathering did not include a speaker who highlighted the experience of the community living through its deadliest war in decades, and, said one attendee, had very few words about the plight of the Palestinians.

The multiday confab was invite-only, and the content of the discussions was largely kept private (HuffPost was not invited). But by obtaining MEADs agenda, marked confidential, and discussing it with several participants, HuffPost got a view into a gathering that focused heavily on closer U.S.-Israel ties and conflict with Iran while being dominated by longtime foreign policy hawks.

The conference agenda runs the gamut of views from conservative to settler the whole point is to erase the Palestinians, said Matt Duss, the executive vice president at the Center for International Policy think tank, who reviewed the document.

The conference did not commit policymakers to any particular moves, and its just one of several annual gatherings among national security officials and analysts from the U.S. and its allies. Still, it offers a snapshot into how some important figures in Middle East policy are maneuvering at a significant moment.

Fighting in Gaza is entering its 12th month without a deal for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in sight, and a change in president looms in the U.S. which is key to the region, given its tens of thousands of troops and deep relationships there.

It was Israel-America dialogue more than anything else, one attendee told HuffPost. A through line of the discussion was that the United States needed to do something about Iran, although exactly what, how, and to what effect was left vague, another said. (HuffPost provided anonymity to allow the attendees to speak freely.)

MEAD drew several top aides to President Joe Biden. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas each offered remarks. So did Brett McGurk , the presidents top Middle East adviser, and Amos Hochstein, who leads the administrations attempt to manage tensions in Lebanon. Panels on digital matters, leadership and greater defense cooperation among the U.S. and its partners featured, respectively, senior White House official Anne Neuberger; former U.S. ambassador to Israel and current Pentagon official Dan Shapiro; and Mira Resnick , the State Departments new chief official for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. (HuffPost broke the news of Resnicks appointment last month.)

Some potential major players in a future U.S. administration weighed in, too.

Michle Flournoy, a candidate for the first female secretary of defense if Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wins in November, was on a panel on Gazas future. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a possible leader in a second Trump presidency, spoke, as did Mike Pompeo, Donald Trumps former CIA director and secretary of state, and Trump-era Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who, like the former president and his family, has cultivated business ties in the Middle East.

The involvement of figures with ties to both the Republican and Democratic parties was by design. MEADs four cochairs include Tom Nides, Bidens former U.S. ambassador to Israel who is rumored to be in the running for a senior Harris administration job, and David Friedman, who was Trumps ambassador to Israel. The selection of cochairs shows our commitment to a nonpartisan approach to advancing U.S.-Middle East dialogue, MEADs website reads.

Yet the seeming diversity of political ties belies a unifying theme: ardent support for U.S.-Israel ties.