Latest update February 9th, 2026 12:35 AM
Arab leaders declare ‘solidarity’ with Qatar as Israel kills 51 in Gaza
─ Qatar’s emir vows to ‘confront Israeli aggression’
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) meets Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, September 15, 2025 [Saudi Press Agency/Handout/Reuters]
(AL-JAZEERA) The emergency Doha summit of Arab and Muslim leaders has issued its final declaration, saying it would stand behind Qatar as it takes steps to respond to Israel’s “cowardly” attack on the Gulf nation last week.
Six-year-old twins were among the 51 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City, when Israeli strikes also killed three Gaza journalists.
Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters that Monday’s summit represented the unity of the Arab Islamic ranks.
“Arab and Muslim leaders have come together to express their unified stance against the Israeli attack on Qatar. They asserted that the attack on an Islamic and Arab country and member of the UN is an unprecedented escalation and a threat to international peace and security,” al-Ansari said.
“This emergency summit in Doha is not a dependency summit, but a message to the entire world that as Arab and Islamic countries, we reject any aggression, and we assert that the Palestinian cause would remain central until the Palestinian people regain their full rights.”
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said the summit and its proceedings reflect “the status, respect, and appreciation enjoyed by Qatar”.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has warned against Israel’s expansionist vision of the Arab region as he lambasted the country for last week’s deadly bombing of Doha, calling the assault “blatant, treacherous, and cowardly”.
“My country’s capital was subjected to a treacherous attack targeting a residence housing the families of Hamas leaders and their negotiating delegation,” the Qatari emir said in his opening speech at the emergency summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“Our citizens were surprised, and the entire world was shocked by the aggression and cowardly terrorist act,” he said, referring to the global condemnation of the September 9 attack that killed six people.
Palestinians walk as smoke rises from the evacuated Al-Ghefari Tower, after it was hit by Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City, September 15, 2025 [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]
“We are determined to do whatever is necessary to preserve our sovereignty and confront Israeli aggression.”
Doha, a close US ally that hosts the largest United States military base in the region, has dubbed the unprecedented attack “state terrorism”. The strike targeted Hamas leaders gathered to discuss a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal. The Palestinian group says its top leadership survived the assassination attempt.
Sheikh Tamim said Israel’s actions showed it had no genuine interest in peace, adding that Israel is attempting to “thwart the negotiations” aimed at ending Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 64,800 Palestinians.
“Anyone who persistently and systematically targets a negotiating party is working to thwart the negotiations,” he said.
Sheikh Tamim accused Israel of waging what he described as a war aimed at destroying Gaza, which has been under unrelenting Israeli bombardment for the past 23 months.
“The Israeli war on Gaza has turned into a war of extermination,” he said. “Israel wants to make Gaza uninhabitable as a prelude to displacing its population.”
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, said: “There’s been firm support at this summit for Qatar and condemnation of Israel over the attack, which members say undermines security and stability in the region.”
Qatar has been a key mediator in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas since Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October 2023. Israeli actions in Gaza have been dubbed genocide by numerous rights organisations, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members, including Israel’s closest ally, the US, condemned the Israeli attack on Doha on Thursday.
Addressing the UNSC, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that Doha would not tolerate further breaches of its security and sovereignty. “Israel is undermining the stability of the region impetuously,” he said.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to attack Hamas leaders again if Qatar does not expel the Palestinian leaders. During a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu on Monday repeated that Israel will hit Hamas “wherever they are”.
The threats come despite US President Donald Trump assuring Sheikh Tamim last week that “
such a thing will not happen again on their soil”. The Trump administration has said that the attack on Doha did not “advance Israel’s or America’s goals”.
Rubio is set to travel to Qatar on Tuesday, a senior US State Department official says.
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