KEY POINTS
- Qatar to host Arab and Islamic summit on Monday to denounce Israeli strike in Doha.
- Israeli attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official during ceasefire talks.
- Qatar calls the strike “cowardly aggression” and “state terrorism”.
DOHA, Qatar: Qatar said Saturday it will host a summit of Arab and Islamic leaders to denounce Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Doha and to show solidarity with the Gulf state.
Monday’s meeting would consider “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar” to be drafted on Sunday at a ministerial meeting, said foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.
Israel targeted a residential compound on Tuesday that was housing Hamas leaders in Doha. The attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official, who were discussing a new deal proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 64,000 people since October 2023.
Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, has been a mediator in negotiations to end the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza where famine has killed nearly 400 Palestinians due to Israeli restrictions on aid supply.
The summit reflected “broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in the face of Israel’s cowardly aggression… and the categorical rejection of Israel’s state terrorism”, the spokesman said, quoted by the official QNA news agency.
Ansari said the strike, which targeted residential compounds of Hamas negotiators in Doha, amounted to “cowardly aggression” and represented “state terrorism practiced by Israel.”
Among the leaders attending will be Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be in Doha, but his presence at the meeting is yet to be confirmed.
Israeli attack on Doha drew widespread international condemnation, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE, Turkiye, Iran, Russia and Israel’s main backer United States.
Qatar, which hosts the largest US base in the region, plays a mediation role in the Gaza war alongside the United States and Egypt.
Analysts say the summit is meant to send Israel a clear signal.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will attend the Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers meeting on Sunday in Doha.
Sources, cited by local media, said that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also expected to participate in the Arab-Islamic Summit to be held the day after tomorrow in Doha.
The meeting of Islamic and Arab foreign ministers will review the situation following the recent Israeli attacks on Qatar.
The meeting will include a strong condemnation of the recent Israeli aggression, and participating foreign ministers from Muslim and Arab countries will deliberate on a joint strategy to counter Israeli hostilities.
On Thursday, PM Sharif visited Doha and assured Qatar of Pakistan’s full solidarity and support in the wake of Israeli air strikes on Doha, which he condemned as an “unprovoked and blatant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
During a meeting in Doha with the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, PM Sharif expressed deep condolences over the loss of lives in the attack and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
