Summit leads to little action after Israeli strike on Hamas in Doha

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas’ political leadership in Doha, Qatar. Picture: Jon Gambrell/AP

Qatar hosted a summit of Arab and Islamic nations on Monday in the hopes of presenting a united response to Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders last week in Doha.

But leaders offered different views about what to do, and the group agreed to take only minimal action.

Israel, which launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 2023 attack, has 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.

Smoke rises from an explosion, allegedly caused by an Israeli strike, in Doha, Qatar (UGC via AP)

That has fuelled wider anger among Middle Eastern nations already enraged by the deaths of more than 64,000 Palestinians during the war in Gaza and contributed to growing concern that the US commitment to protect Gulf Arab states may not be strong enough.

However, significant differences among the nations likely blunted any attempt at cooperation.

Condemnations came from countries that Israel considers enemies, like Iran.

Meanwhile, the nations that have diplomatic recognition deals with Israel were reluctant to sever those ties.

Monday was the fifth anniversary of the signing by Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates of the Abraham Accords that marked their formal recognition of Israel.

“Condemnations will not stop the missiles. Declarations will not free Palestine,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

“Severe, punitive actions must be put in place.”

– Qatar’s ruler offers fiery speech

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

Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel (Leo Correa/AP)

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 key mediator in ceasefire talks.

“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 — an assessment offered by multiple others at the summit.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening event of the bipartisan delegation of American legislators to Israel in Jerusalem (Debbie Hill/AP)

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel “should also be squeezed economically, as previous experience shows that such steps yield results”.

– Iran, which hit a base in Qatar in June, attended the summit

After the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June, Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a major hub for American forces — a move that angered Qatar.

Nevertheless, Iran sent President Masoud Pezeshkian to attend Monday’s meeting, where he urged other nations to “isolate the aggressor”.

Mr Pezeshkian did not touch on Iran’s attack on Qatar but did mention Israel’s war on Iran in June, and also warned that any country in the region could be next.

“The attack on Doha changed lots of miscalculations and wrong ideas,” he said.

“It showed that no Arab or Muslim country is safe from the aggression of the regime in Tel Aviv. Tomorrow it can be any Arab or Muslim capital’s turn.”

US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City (Nathan Howard/AP)

Before the summit, analysts floated possibly closing airspace to Israeli flights or downgrading ties with Israel.

A final statement from the meeting, however, only called on states to “take all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people”.

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, held its own meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Its members decided to take steps “to activate the mechanisms of joint defence and the Gulf deterrence capabilities,” they said in a statement, without elaborating.

– Qatar has been key in Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks

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

For years, it has hosted Hamas’ 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.

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza by foot and in vehicles, carrying their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

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.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio was in Israel on Monday for meetings with Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to express America’s concern over the attack on Qatar and talk about Israel’s planned new offensive on Gaza City.

Mr Rubio planned to pay a quick visit to Qatar on Tuesday as the administration seeks to ease tensions between its two close allies.

Mr Rubio declined to address Israel’s strike while speaking to journalists in Jerusalem, but he said America wanted to work with all its partners in the region to stop Hamas and reach a ceasefire in the war.

“We’re going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” Mr Rubio said.

Mr Netanyahu again added that Israel’s decision to attack Qatar “was a wholly independent decision by us”.

He faces increasing pressure from the Israeli public to end the war and bring home the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed by Israel to still be alive.

The Hamas-led October 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the abduction of 251.

Israel’s ensuing offensives in Gaza have killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.

It says around half of those killed were women and children.