The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold an urgent debate in Geneva on Tuesday over Israel’s September 9 airstrike in Qatar that targeted Hamas leaders, the Council announced on Monday.
The strike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but none of its senior leadership, has sparked regional tensions. US-allied Gulf Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, have rallied in opposition, further straining ties with Israel despite normalising relations in 2020.
The debate was formally requested by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and by Kuwait on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The move came as Arab and Islamic leaders convened in Doha on Monday, where they were expected to adopt a resolution warning that Israel’s actions in Qatar and other “hostile acts” threaten regional coexistence and ongoing efforts to expand diplomatic normalisation.
Tuesday’s session will be the 10th urgent debate held by the UNHRC since its creation in 2006.
Israel is already under intense scrutiny for its ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Local health authorities report more than 64,000 deaths since the conflict began nearly two years ago, figures that have led scholars and rights groups to accuse Israel of committing genocide. Israel has firmly rejected the charge, maintaining that its operations are acts of self-defence in response to the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
The urgent debate underscores mounting global concern over the widening conflict and its implications for both regional stability and international law.
Melissa Enoch
Follow us on: