Qatar hosts summit in response to Israeli strike on Hamas in Doha

Qatar hosted a summit of leaders of Arab and Islamic nations in the hopes of presenting a united response to Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha last week, but the group has few ways to restrain Israel as its war in the Gaza Strip grinds on.

Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, and since then, it has also retaliated against the militant group and other members of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance elsewhere, including in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Qatar.

That has led to wider anger among Mideast nations, already enraged by the more than 64,000 Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza — and a growing concern that the US commitment to protect Gulf Arab states may not be strong enough.

However, it remains unclear just what the summit will be able to achieve. Significant tensions among the nations meeting could blunt co-operation — and they also have few levers they can pull.

Condemnations from countries that Israel considers enemies, like Iran, will mean little. Meanwhile, the nations attending that have diplomatic recognition deals with Israel may be reluctant to sever ties.

“Considering the deep tensions between the Gulf states and other regional actors, assembling the summit in less than a week, especially given its scale, is a notable achievement that underscores a shared sense of urgency in the region,” the New York-based Soufan Centre said.

“The key question is whether … (the summit will) signal a shift toward more consequential measures against Israel, including diplomatic downgrades, targeted economic actions and restrictions on airspace and access.”

Qatar’s ruling emir opened the summit by accusing Israel of not caring about its hostages held in Gaza and instead only working to “ensure Gaza is no longer liveable”.

Israel has said the goals of its war include bringing all the hostages back and defeating Hamas.

“If Israel wishes to assassinate the Hamas leaders, why then engage in negotiations?” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani asked. “If you wish to insist on the liberation of hostages, why then do they assassinate all negotiators?”

The speech was unusually fiery for the 45-year-old ruler of Qatar, which has served as a key mediator in an effort to reach a ceasefire in the war.

“There is no room to deal with such a party that’s cowardly and treacherous,” he added. “Those who work consistently to assassinate the party in these negotiations will certainly do everything to ensure the failure of these negotiations. When they claim that they seek the liberation of hostages, that’s a mere lie.”

Sheikh Tamim also denounced Israel over what he called the “genocide” it is committing in Gaza.

Israel vehemently denies it is committing genocide. It says Hamas is prolonging the war by not surrendering and releasing the hostages.

A variety of regional leaders attended the summit, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Prior to the summit, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, said Qatar remains committed to working with Egypt and the United States to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ attack on Israel nearly two years ago.

However, he said that the Israeli strike that killed six people – five members of Hamas and a local Qatari security force member – represented “an attack on the principle of mediation itself”.

“This attack can only be described as state terrorism, an approach pursued by the current extremist Israeli government, which flouts international law,” the minister said.

“The reckless and treacherous Israeli aggression was committed while the state of Qatar was hosting official and public negotiations, with the knowledge of the Israeli side itself, and with the aim of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Sheikh Mohammed stressed the moment had come for consequences to Israel’s attacks in the wider Middle East.

Qatar, an energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula that hosted the 2022 World Cup, has long served as an intermediary in conflicts.

For years, it has hosted Hamas’s political leadership at the request of the US, providing a channel for Israel to negotiate with the militant group that has controlled Gaza for years.

But as the Israel-Hamas war has raged on, Qatar increasingly has been criticised by hard-liners within Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Mr Netanyahu himself has vowed to strike all those who organised the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, and since last week’s strike, the Israeli leader has doubled down on saying Qatar remains a possible target if Hamas leaders are there.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump offered renewed support for Qatar.

“We’re with them. You know, they’ve been a great ally,” Mr Trump said. “A lot of people don’t understand about Qatar. Qatar has been a great ally, and they also lead a very difficult life because they’re right in the middle of everything.”