Today's Edition
CAIRO (dpa)
Qatar on Sunday roundly condemned a recent Israeli attack in Doha, but promised to continue its mediation efforts to end the war in Gaza.
"Israel's savage practices will not deter us from continuing our sincere efforts with Egypt and the United States to stop this war," Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a meeting of top diplomats of Arab and Islamic countries in Doha.
Negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and the Hamas movement have stalled for months.
On Tuesday, Israel struck a residential area of Doha targeting Hamas leaders, killing six people including a Qatari security officer.
Al Thani, who also acts as Qatar's foreign minister, added in a televised address at the meeting that the attack could undermine the negotiating efforts.
The foreign ministers of the Arab League and the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday met in Doha on the eve of an emergency summit called to address the unprecedented Israeli attack on the Gulf country.
The ministers are setting the scene for the summit scheduled for Monday in Doha.
The summit will discuss a draft statement on the Israeli attack prepared by the foreign ministers, a Qatari official said.
"Convening the summit at this time reflects broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in confronting the...Israeli aggression," the Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokesman Majid al-Ansari added.
At the summit, the leaders will consider several options for potential decisions, including an unequivocal condemnation of the attack, coordinated diplomatic pressure on Israel at international forums, and other economic steps, the Qatari news outlet al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.
The Israeli strike has drawn global condemnation and a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump.
