DOHA: Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on September 14–15 in Doha, just days after an Israeli airstrike on the Qatari capital killed six people, including five Hamas officials and one Qatari security officer.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed that foreign ministers will gather for a preparatory meeting on September 13 before heads of state convene. The summit aims to build a united regional stance on the attack and discuss its broader implications.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani condemned the strike as a violation of international law, describing it as “state terror.” He urged collective action among Arab and Islamic nations to respond to what he called an assault on Qatar’s sovereignty.
The summit agenda will focus on the legal and diplomatic fallout of the Israeli attack, Qatar’s mediator role in Gaza ceasefire talks, and possible joint measures to deter further Israeli escalation.
The attack targeted aides of senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who were in Doha for talks. Their deaths have raised questions about Qatar’s ability to continue as a neutral facilitator in regional diplomacy.
The crisis has already drawn international attention. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, during a meeting with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, offered Islamabad’s “full support” and strongly condemned the Israeli strike as a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s territorial integrity.
Qatar is also coordinating with other countries at the United Nations as tensions mount across the region.
