Qatar to Host Arab and Muslim Summit Condemning Israeli Strikes in Doha
Among those expected to attend are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Qatar announced on Saturday that it will host an emergency summit of Arab and Muslim leaders to condemn Israel’s deadly strike on Hamas officials in Doha and to demonstrate solidarity with the Gulf state in the face of what it called “cowardly aggression.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the summit, scheduled for Monday, will deliberate on “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar,” to be prepared Sunday at a ministerial-level meeting.
The Qatari official stressed that the event reflects “broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar” and represents a “categorical rejection of Israel’s state terrorism,” according to the state-run QNA news agency.
Among those expected to attend are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be in Doha, though his participation in the session has not yet been confirmed, according to AFP.
The Israeli strike on Tuesday, which killed five Hamas members along with a Qatari security officer, drew strong condemnation across the region, including from Gulf monarchies traditionally aligned with the United States — Israel’s most important ally.
Observers say Monday’s summit is intended to send Israel a blunt warning that its actions have crossed new boundaries.
“The Israeli strikes were seen across the Gulf as an unprecedented violation of sovereignty and an attack on diplomacy itself,” Andreas Krieg of King’s College London told AFP. “The goal is to draw clear red lines and end the sense in Israel that it can act with impunity.”
Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and has played a pivotal role in mediating between Israel and Hamas alongside Washington and Cairo, views the attack not only as an assault on its territory but as a blow to ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
The summit, therefore, is also designed to strengthen political backing for Qatar’s position and to project unity in the face of what many regional leaders see as Israel’s unchecked use of force.
U.S.–Qatar Talks in Washington
The summit comes just days after Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani traveled to Washington, D.C., where on Friday, he held a series of high-level meetings with senior U.S. officials.
In Washington, Sheikh Mohammed met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance, followed by a dinner with President Donald Trump, also attended by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The discussions centered on Gaza ceasefire efforts, energy cooperation, and Qatar’s indispensable role as a mediator in the conflict. According to U.S. officials, Washington reaffirmed Qatar’s importance as a “trusted and strategic ally,” particularly in hosting Hamas’s political office and facilitating sensitive backchannel negotiations.
At the same time, the meetings reflected growing U.S. unease: the Israeli strike in Doha was acknowledged as a dangerous escalation that placed Washington in a difficult position — forced to reconcile its deep alliance with Israel against the need to protect Qatar, a Gulf partner essential for managing the Gaza crisis and maintaining regional stability.
For Doha, the timing of these meetings underscored its dual strategy: strengthening ties with Washington while rallying Arab and Muslim leaders to signal that any attack on Qatari sovereignty would not go unanswered.
The upcoming summit in Doha, therefore, builds directly on this diplomatic momentum, amplifying Qatar’s message that its territory, role, and mediation efforts cannot be sidelined or undermined.
