Qatar hosted a summit of leaders of Arab and Islamic nations on Monday (September 15, 2025) within the hopes of presenting a united response to Israel’s assault on Hamas leaders in Doha final week. But the group has few methods to restrain Israel as its struggle within the Gaza Strip grinds on.
Qatar’s ruling Emir opened the summit by accusing Israel of not caring about its hostages held in Gaza and as an alternative solely working to ”guarantee Gaza is no longer livable.” Israel has mentioned the objectives of its struggle embody bringing all of the hostages again and defeating Hamas.
“If Israel wishes to assassinate the Hamas leaders, why then engage in negotiations?” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani requested. “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 an effort to attain a ceasefire within the struggle.
“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 additionally denounced Israel over what he referred to as the “genocide” it is committing in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies it is committing genocide. It says Hamas is prolonging the struggle by not surrendering and releasing the hostages.
Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assault, and since then it has additionally retaliated towards the militant group and different members of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance elsewhere, together with in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Qatar.
That’s led to wider anger amongst Mideast nations already enraged by the over 64,000 Palestinians killed throughout the struggle in Gaza — and a rising concern that the U.S. dedication to defend Gulf Arab states will not be sturdy sufficient.
However, it stays unclear simply what the summit shall be in a position to obtain. Significant tensions among the many nations assembly may blunt cooperation — they usually even have few levers they will pull.
Condemnations from nations that Israel considers enemies, like Iran, will imply little. Meanwhile, the nations attending which have diplomatic recognition offers with Israel could also 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 Center mentioned.
“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.”
A range of regional leaders attended the summit, together with 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.
Iran’s presence in summit
Iran, which hit a base in Qatar in June, is attending the summit. After the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear websites in June, Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a significant hub for American forces — a transfer that angered Qatar. Nevertheless, Iran despatched President Masoud Pezeshkian to attend Monday’s assembly. Before leaving Tehran, Pezeshkian famous the extensive breadth of nations Israel has attacked since October 7.
“This regime has attacked many Islamic countries,” he said. “It does whatever it wants, and unfortunately, the United States and European countries also support these actions.” Writing on the social platform X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added: “Iran stands with Qatar and indeed all Muslim brothers and sisters, particularly against the scourge that is terrorising the region.” Mr. Araghchi and Mr. Pezeshkian didn’t point out Iran’s assault on Qatar and obtained an honour guard welcome when touchdown in Doha.
Qatar in Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks
Qatar, an energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula that hosted the 2022 World Cup, lengthy has served as an middleman in conflicts. For years, it has hosted Hamas’ political management on the request of the U.S., offering a channel for Israel to negotiate with the militant group that has managed Gaza for years.
But because the Israel-Hamas struggle has raged on, Qatar more and more has been criticised by hard-liners inside Netanyahu’s authorities. Mr. Netanyahu himself has vowed to strike all those that organised the Hamas-led assault on Israel in 2023. And since final week’s strike, the Israeli chief has doubled down on saying Qatar stays a potential goal if Hamas leaders are there.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump supplied renewed help for Qatar.
“We’re with them. You know, they’ve been a great ally,” Mr. Trump mentioned. “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.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel on Monday (September 15, 2025) for conferences with Mr. Netanyahu and different Israeli officers to categorical America’s concern over the assault on Qatar and speak about Israel’s deliberate new offensive on Gaza City.
Mr. Rubio declined to tackle Israel’s strike whereas talking to journalists in Jerusalem, however mentioned that America needed to work with all its companions within the area on stopping Hamas and reaching a ceasefire within the struggle.
“We’re going to continue to encourage Qatar to play a constructive role in that regard,” Mr. Rubio mentioned.
Mr. Netanyahu once more added that Israel’s resolution to assault Qatar “was a wholly independent decision by us.” Mr. Netanyahu faces growing strain from the Israeli public to finish the struggle and convey residence the 48 hostages nonetheless held in Gaza, whom 20 are believed by Israel to nonetheless be alive.
