Arab and Islamic summit in Doha to highlight seriousness of Israel's attack on Qatar

Leaders expected to formulate response amid questions about role of the US, an ally of both countries

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman. Reuters

Qatar's hosting of leaders from Arab and Islamic countries in Doha on Monday is the strongest demonstration yet of its anger after Israel carried out an air strike on Hamas leaders in its capital on September 9.

While Israel has been at war with the Palestinian group in Gaza since 2023, its decision to attack Hamas in the territory of a fellow US ally shocked the region, especially since Qatar has played a leading role in trying to mediate an end to the war.

Israel's attack on Tuesday was immediately condemned by Qatar's Gulf neighbours as a breach of sovereignty and a setback to diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza. Several leaders, including UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, visited Doha in a show of solidarity with Qatar.

Qatari PM meets US leaders as anger grows over Israeli attack

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Reflecting the seriousness with which Israel's action is being viewed, leaders of Arab and Islamic states are expected in Qatar's capital on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss a response.

The summit “reflects the broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in confronting the cowardly Israeli aggression that targeted the residential headquarters of several Hamas leaders, and these countries' categorical rejection of the state terrorism practised by Israel”, Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said on Saturday.

He said the summit would discuss a draft resolution to be prepared at a meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers on Sunday.

Hasan Al Hasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Israel's attack on Hamas leaders abroad came as no surprise, but the breach of Qatar's sovereignty and airspace was a “game changer”.

“In doing so, they don't only endanger the residents in the area but civil aviation in an airspace that is as congested as the Gulf airspace is, and in particular Qatar.”

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, on Saturday called for the creation of a joint operations headquarters to counter Israel. In a post on social media, he said holding conferences without practical outcomes was tantamount to giving Israel approval for further attacks. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will attend Monday's summit, Iranian media reported.

Mr Al Hasan said another important aspect of the Israeli strike pertained to the US role and the questions surrounding it. “The US factor is that either it failed to intervene to stop and prevent the attack or worse, it facilitated and tacitly approved the attack on Qatar,” he said.

“At best, the US isn't capable of protecting and preventing such an attack by Israel against one of its closest defence and security partners, Qatar. At worst, the US is complicit in an attack that violated the sovereignty of Qatar. It's pretty terrible either way.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman visited the US, Israel's main backer, and held talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, before dining with President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff in New York.

While there was no US statement on the meetings, the Qatar News Agency said Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that his country “will take all measures to protect its security and safeguard its sovereignty in the face of the blatant Israeli attack”.

It said Mr Vance expressed appreciation for Doha's “tireless mediation efforts and its effective role in bringing peace to the region” and stressed Qatar's position as a “reliable strategic ally of the United States of America”.

Mr Rubio is scheduled to visit Israel on Saturday, with the repercussions of the Doha air strike likely to feature in his talks with Israeli leaders.

Before departing, Mr Rubio told reporters that while Mr Trump was "not happy" about the strike, it was "not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis".

The attack on Qatar, host of the largest American base in the region, poses a problem for Mr Trump, who signed deals worth $1.2 trillion during his visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar in May – and even received an aeroplane as a gift from the Qataris.

Mr Al Hasan said the US President had an opportunity to cement his country's role as a security provider to the region if he wanted to by taking punitive measures that demonstrate his displeasure beyond just rhetoric.

Mr Trump has only said he was “unhappy” with Israel's action and promised that it would not be repeated.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained defiant in the face of regional and global condemnation of the attack, including from the UN Security Council. He called on Qatar to expel the Hamas officials residing in Doha or “bring them to justice”, adding that, “If you don't, we will.”

Qatar said it viewed his comments as threats of future breaches of its sovereignty, while the UAE summoned Israel's deputy ambassador to condemn not only Israel's actions in Qatar but also Mr Netanyahu's statements.

Qatar has hosted Hamas's leadership since 2012 in agreement with the US, and has played a critical role in mediation efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza, alongside Egypt and Washington. Israeli officials have visited Doha several times for indirect negotiations on a ceasefire.

Israel attacked the Hamas leaders as they were meeting to consider a new US-backed proposal. Hamas said they survived the attack, but chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya's son was killed, along with four members of the group and a member of Qatar's security services.

Mr Netanyahu insists that the war in Gaza will end only with the destruction of Hamas and has ordered the military to seize control of Gaza city, despite global concerns about the impact this would have on the already dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli military is in the initial stages of seizing control of Gaza city, where an estimated one million residents have been ordered to leave as it intensifies bombing of the area in preparation for a ground assault.

The war has already devastated most of the territory and its infrastructure, and displaced most of its population several times. The UN last month declared a famine in Gaza city after months of Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid.

Gaza's health authorities say more than 64,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.

The Israeli military began its offensive when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 to Gaza as hostages. About 50 remain in captivity, but it is believed only 20 are still alive.

Palestinian statehood

The war has added impetus to western powers' efforts to recognise Palestinian statehood, as a first step towards a two-state solution to ending the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Already 147 of the UN's 193 member states have recognised a Palestinian state, and more plan to do so during the UN General Assembly this month.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution charting the road map towards creating a Palestinian state while excluding Hamas from governance. The US was among eight countries that voted against the resolution.

The US remains crucial to resolving related issues, such as the postwar governance of Gaza and growing settlement expansion in the West Bank under Mr Netanyahu's government. Its far-right members are increasingly calling for annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.