An Israeli attack in Qatar’s capital, Doha, targeting Hamas officials has drawn swift condemnation from across the region and beyond with the UN chief calling the air strikes a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Israeli military carried out the attack in Doha on Tuesday against Hamas leaders. It was the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has been a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and hosts the region’s largest United States military base, Al Udeid Air Base.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest terms the cowardly Israeli attack”.
Here are reactions from regional and international leaders:
UN secretary-general
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the air raids a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.
He added that all parties to the Gaza war must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire rather than destroying the prospects of one.
Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saudi Arabia “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the brutal Israeli aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly State of Qatar”, adding that it affirms “its full solidarity”.
It warned of the “grave consequences resulting from the Israeli occupation’s persistence in its criminal transgressions and its blatant violation of the principles of international law and all international norms”.
Turkiye
Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s attack on Qatar, saying it shows Israel is not interested in an agreement to end the war on Gaza.
“The targeting of the Hamas negotiating delegation while ceasefire talks continue shows that Israel does not aim to reach peace, but rather continue the war,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This situation is clear proof that Israel has adopted its expansionist politics in the region and terrorism as a state policy.”
The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates also voiced support for Doha, condemning the “treacherous Israeli attack”.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, said: “The security of the Arab Gulf states is indivisible, and we stand heart and soul with the sisterly State of Qatar, condemning the treacherous Israeli attack that targeted it, and affirming our full solidarity with it in confronting this aggression.”
Kuwait
Kuwait issued a statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemning what it described as “the brutal aggression against the State of Qatar by the unjust Israeli forces”.
Jordan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Israeli bombing as a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter and called it a blatant attack on the sovereignty and security of Qatar.
Ministry spokesman Fuad Majali said the Israeli attack constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of an Arab state and is a dangerous and unacceptable provocative escalation that pushes the region towards further violence and conflict and threatens regional and international security and stability.
Iran
Iran described the attack as a “gross violation”, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the “extremely dangerous and criminal action is a gross violation of all international rules and regulations, a violation of Qatar’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Iraq
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticised the attack, calling it a “cowardly act” and expressing “full support” for Qatar to confront any aggression.
Palestinian response
Hussein al-Sheikh, vice president of the State of Palestine and vice chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Oraganization, said: “We strongly condemn the heinous Israeli attack targeting the sisterly State of Qatar.”
The director general of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismail al-Thawabta, said: “The ‘Israeli’ occupation committed a cowardly assassination crime in the heart of the Qatari capital, Doha, the mediating state in negotiations between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group described the attack as a “blatant criminal act”.
Yemen’s Houthi group
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, said Arab and Muslim countries must “pay attention” to Israel’s plans before it’s too late.
“We warn against a formula for the violations of all countries in the region,” al-Mashat said. “What happened in Doha will happen again and more in the rest of the countries if we do not all unite in confronting the Zionist threat.”
Maldives
The Maldives also described the attack as “cowardly and a serious violation of international law”.
“The Maldives stands in solidarity with the State of Qatar and calls on the international community to take urgent and unified action to hold Israel accountable for its numerous and continued violations of international norms and principles,” President Mohamed Muizzu posted on X.
There has been no immediate comment from the US.
