New York, September 10: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will convene an emergency session on Wednesday in New York following an Israeli airstrike that targeted senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar.
According to a post on X by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, the session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. local time (12:30 a.m. IST Thursday). The meeting comes after Israeli airstrikes hit residential buildings in Doha housing members of Hamas’s Political Bureau, sparking sharp international reactions.
Danon defended the operation, stating there would be no immunity for terrorists and that Israel would continue to act against Hamas leadership.
“The UN Security Council will convene today at 3:00 p.m. New York time (10:00 p.m. Israel time) for an emergency session following the strike on Hamas leadership in Doha. I intend to make it absolutely clear to the Council: there will be no immunity for terrorists—not in Gaza, not in Lebanon, and not in Qatar. We will not back down and we will continue to act decisively against the leaders of terror wherever they are hiding,” Danon wrote.
The Israeli strikes on Tuesday marked an unprecedented military action inside the territory of Qatar, a key U.S. ally and mediator in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, CNN reported. Israel said the attack was part of an operation codenamed “Summit of Fire.”
Hamas reported that six individuals were killed in the strike, including five of its members. The group confirmed that its negotiating delegation survived. Among those killed were the son of Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya and the director of his office. A Qatari security official also reportedly died.
The strikes hit West Bay Lagoon, an upscale residential district in Doha where members of Hamas’s political bureau had been residing, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry. At the time of the attack, Hamas said its representatives were reviewing a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. Al-Hayya was believed to be the main target but was not among the dead.
Following the strike, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly” and “criminal assault” that violated international laws and norms. The ministry said the attack posed a serious threat to Qatari citizens and residents and constituted a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and security.
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha. This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari wrote on X.
He added that investigations are underway at the highest level and that details would be shared once available. Qatar also warned it “will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the strike, stating, “Today’s Israeli strikes on Qatar are unacceptable, whatever the reason. I express my solidarity with Qatar and its Emir, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani. Under no circumstances should the war spread throughout the region,” he posted on X.
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