By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday after Israeli airstrikes targeted Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha, expanding Israel’s military aggression across the Middle East to include a key Gulf ally that has long hosted the Palestinian for peace negotiations.
The strikes, which killed at least six people including a Qatari security guard, drew swift condemnation from Qatar as a “cowardly” attack and a flagrant violation of international law. They also prompted a wave of international criticism, including from US President Donald Trump, who said he was not notified in advance and was “not thrilled about the whole situation.”
In a post on the social media platform X, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said his country had joined with Algeria and Somalia in calling for the emergency session to address the “unprovoked illegal Israeli aggression” in Qatar and “discuss the situation and seize itself of this grave matter.”
“Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity and firm support with the government and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar wrote.
The request came as Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, reaffirmed his government’s backing for Qatar during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Sharif said he had spoken directly with the emir of Qatar to convey solidarity after the strikes hit a civilian neighborhood in Doha.
“Yesterday, in Qatar, Israel once again launched an attack, a barbarity, against a sovereign country,” Sharif said. “I believe that no matter how much it is condemned, it will not going to be enough.”
He added: “I think that the blood that is being shed in Palestine, and the innocent children, young people, sisters, mothers and elders, who are being martyred, I believe not just in contemporary history but in the history of the world, there is no other example of such barbarity, cruelty and oppression.”
Sharif noted that Dar had issued an immediate statement condemning the attack, and that the Qatari leader had thanked “the people of Pakistan, the government, and everyone for taking a stand in this difficult time.”
Qatar, which has served as a central mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks alongside Egypt and the United States, has allowed Hamas’s political bureau to operate from its territory as part of those negotiations. Qatari officials denounced the strike as a “criminal attack” that endangered the security of citizens and foreign residents alike.
Hamas confirmed that the airstrikes killed six people, including an aide and an adult son of its top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, along with three bodyguards and a Qatari security officer. But the group said its senior leaders had survived, describing the operation as “the enemy’s failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation.”
The White House said Trump did not agree with Israel’s decision to launch the strikes and had warned Qatar in advance, but Doha said it did not receive the warning from Washington until the attack was already underway.
Trump, in a social media post, emphasized that “this was a decision made by Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me.”
“I view Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the US, and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” he said, while adding that Hamas’s elimination remained a “worthy goal.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the assault as a “wholly independent Israeli operation” for which his government took “full responsibility.”
The strikes occurred amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, where more than 64,600 people have been killed since operations began in October 2023.
Qatar’s prime minister said the country reserved the right to respond to the attack, which he called a “pivotal moment” for the region. Qatar hosts a large U.S. military base and has led multiple rounds of truce efforts for Gaza. Russia and China joined the condemnation, with Moscow saying the operation undermined peace efforts in the Middle East.
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