UAE president visits Qatar after Israeli airstrike on Doha

ISTANBUL

United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Doha for a “fraternal visit” on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli airstrike on the Qatari capital.

The Emirati state news agency WAM said bin Zayed was personally welcomed by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the airport.

Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike targeting Hamas leadership in Doha on Tuesday. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security personnel were killed in the attack.

The Israeli airstrike has drawn a wave of condemnations as a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and international law.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed denounced the Israeli attack as "a violation of the sovereignty of sisterly Qatar and all international laws and norms,” and affirmed the UAE's full solidarity with Qatar during a phone call with Sheikh Tamim.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has been mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a potential prisoner swap and ceasefire deal.

Israel has killed more than 64,600 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and pushed the territory’s population into famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.