Global Outcry as World Leaders Condemn Israeli Strike on Doha

World leaders, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the United Kingdom, France and several political analysts from Nigeria have strongly condemned Israel’s attack on Doha, the Qatari capital, which targeted senior Hamas leaders. They described the strike as a violation of international law.

Tuesday’s attack marked Israel’s first strike in Qatar, a country that has played a central role as mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas and also hosts the United States’ largest military base in the region, Al Udeid Air Base.

The strikes coincided with a Hamas negotiating team meeting on a new ceasefire proposal from the United States. It also followed a Hamas shooting in Jerusalem that left six people dead and came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Hamas to accept his proposed ceasefire terms, which Israel had already agreed to.

According to Qatari officials, Israeli strikes targeted the homes of Hamas political bureau members based in Doha. Reports confirmed the death of a Hamas leader’s son while senior leadership figures survived.

Israel’s military later said the operation was carried out jointly by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet intelligence service. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took full responsibility, saying he ordered the strikes in retaliation for the Jerusalem attack.

Global condemnation
UN Secretary-General Guterres described the assault as a violation of Qatar’s territorial integrity and urged all parties to work toward a lasting ceasefire. The UK and France echoed similar concerns, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warning against further escalation and French President Emmanuel Macron labelling the attack “unacceptable.”

The Qatari Foreign Ministry called the strike a “cowardly assault” and a blatant violation of international law, stressing that it endangered civilians and undermined regional security. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and the Maldives also condemned the attack, calling it reckless and destabilising.

In Nigeria, Dr Joseph Ochogwu, Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, warned that the assault had “widened the frontiers of the crisis” and posed grave dangers to international stability. Dr Olalekan Babatunde, also of the IPCR, described it as “a serious attack on international law,” urging African nations to condemn Israel’s actions.

Other voices, including career diplomat Ambassador Sulaiman Dahiru, criticised Israel’s “lawless behaviour,” warning that the strike risked isolating Israel further from Arab nations.

Wider conflict continues
Israel has been carrying out strikes across Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and the occupied West Bank since the war began in October 2023 after a Hamas surprise attack. Nearly two years later, reports say more than 66,700 people have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank, over 1,000 on the Israeli side and more than 400 journalists and humanitarian workers in total.

The latest escalation in Doha, observers warn, could further destabilise the Middle East and derail already fragile ceasefire efforts.