Israel Vows to Target Hamas Worldwide; Arab Leaders Reevaluate Relations Following Qatar Assault

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While Washington advocates for a diplomatic resolution, “we must be ready for other outcomes,” Rubio noted.

The US has said it was not warned in advance before Israel attacked Qatar, which houses the biggest US military base in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Israel had to be “very, very careful”.

“They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States,” Trump said.

Qatar denounces ‘cowardly and treacherous’ strike

Hamas has said the Israeli strike killed five of its members, including a son of its exiled Gaza chief, but its leadership survived. Qatar says one of its security agents also died.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani urged the summit to take “practical and decisive steps” in response to the “cowardly and treacherous” strike, saying it occurred as Hamas leaders were studying a US ceasefire proposal.

The summit’s concluding statement, which gathered leaders from countries including Iran, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, excluded language from a previous draft that implied Israeli actions, including the recent attack, could undermine regional peace efforts and relations.

Men in suits or Arab dress standing in a line in front of a row of flags

A broad spectrum of states attended the summit — including Iran, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. Source: Getty / Anadolu

A separate statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council said Israel’s “continuation of these aggressive policies undermines … the future of existing understandings and agreements with Israel”.

The summit’s communique did call on countries to review diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, in what Arab League assistant secretary General Hossam Zaki said was an invitation to states that have relations with Israel to revise them.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, representing a nation allied with the US and bound by a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, stated that Israel’s initiatives hinder potential new peace agreements and could even disrupt current ones.

Rubio to fly to Qatar

Rubio will travel to Qatar after his visit to Israel. He called on Qatar to continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Gaza conflict, saying it could help reach the goals of releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, disarming Hamas and building a better future for Gazans.

But his words alongside Netanyahu suggest the US now considers a diplomatic solution unlikely and is backing Israel’s plan for a major new military operation that Netanyahu says will crush Hamas once and for all.

“As much as we may wish that there be a peaceful, diplomatic way to end it, and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” said Rubio, calling Hamas “savage terrorists”.

“Hamas needs to cease to exist as an armed element that can threaten the peace and security of the region,” he said.

Netanyahu has not dismissed the possibility of annexing the West Bank in retaliation to international moves recognizing a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly. Countries like France and Britain have indicated plans to do so.

Asked whether Israel was considering extending its sovereignty to the West Bank, Netanyahu said: “A future step is a future step. We don’t need to expose it ahead of time.

“It’s clear that taking unilateral actions against us simply invites unilateral actions on our part,” he said.

While diplomacy was unfolding in Jerusalem and Doha, Israeli forces continued their assault on Gaza City, where they killed at least 16 Palestinians in strikes on two homes and on a tent housing a displaced family, local health authorities said.

The army also hit and destroyed a 16-floor building in the west of the city, believed to be the tallest in Gaza, about an hour after warning displaced families sheltering inside and nearby to leave. It said the building was being used to hide “terrorist infrastructure”.