Updates: Islamic states declare Qatar ‘solidarity’, Israel kills 51 in Gaza

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To learn more about why more countries are recognising the Palestinian state and whether that matters, watch the latest episode of Start Here.

For a full account of what was said today as leaders of the Arab and Muslim world gathered in Doha to produce a cohesive response to Israel’s attack against Qatar last week, read here.

And you can always find all our coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

But before wrapping up, here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world condemned in the strongest possible terms the attack carried out by Israel in Doha and reaffirmed their condemnation of Israeli practices in Gaza at an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic countries in Qatar.
• The Israeli army launched a massive wave of strikes on Gaza City this evening, as hundreds of thousands of residents continue to flee the city.
• The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 12 people, including four children, were wounded in an Israeli air strike on the Ksar Zaatar neighbourhood in Nabatieh, a city in the south of the country.
• The Israeli prime minister’s office reiterated in an X post that Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha was a “wholly independent” Israeli operation.
• The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that yesterday, “out of 17 missions that humanitarian teams coordinated with the Israeli authorities, only four were facilitated”.
• Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, says he expects the US to exert its leverage to restrain Israel’s actions in the region.

The leaders of Canada, France, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Kingdom held a call earlier today to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement.

“All leaders agreed that the focus must remain on advancing peace and security, including reaching a lasting ceasefire, securing the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, and scaling up flows of life-saving assistance for Palestinian civilians,” it said.

The call was chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world united in Doha for an emergency summit where they condemned the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid looks at the key takeaways from the event:

The US president has repeated his assertion that Israel will not strike Qatar again.

This comes after Israel last week bombed the political offices of Hamas in Doha, a move that drew condemnation across Europe and the Arab world, and annoyed the US president.

Yet, after Trump mentioned for the first time that Israel would not attack Qatar again, Netanyahu did not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders, saying they would not have immunity, “wherever they are”.

The US president has posted to his Truth Social online platform, saying that he just read a news report that indicated Hamas has moved Israeli captives above ground in Gaza to use them as “human shields”.

“I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing. This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before”, he wrote in his signature style.

“Don’t let this happen or, ALL ‘BETS’ ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!” he continued.

Trump has issued many such bellicose threats towards Hamas in the past, even before he entered the White House for his second term in January.

Just more than a week ago, Trump threatened Hamas by saying that it must accept the ceasefire proposal he put on the table. In the ensuing days, as Hamas leaders met to discuss the said proposal in the Qatari capital, Israel attempted to assassinate them in an attack that continues to make waves around the Arab and Islamic world.

Earlier, we reported on an intense wave of Israeli air attacks being carried out on Gaza City.

Video posted on social media – and verified by Al Jazeera – shows a montage of bombings carried out this evening from different perspectives:

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A post shared by شادي عطالله (@shady_atall)

Translation: The [bombing] did not stop on Gaza City.

The Lebanese Health Ministry says at least 12 people, including four children, were wounded in an Israeli air strike on the Ksar Zaatar neighborhood in Nabatieh, a city in the south of the country.

This comes soon after the Israeli army claimed it struck a Hezbollah headquarters in the Nabatieh area.

The Israeli prime minister’s office reiterated in an X post that Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha was a “wholly independent” Israeli operation.

This statement comes in the wake of an Axios report, which said that PM Benjamin Netanyahu informed US President Donald Trump that Israel planned to attack Hamas leaders in Qatar before last week’s strike occurred.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that yesteday, “out of 17 missions that humanitarian teams coordinated with the Israeli authorities, only four were facilitated”.

“Seven missions were denied”, UN OCHA explained, “including the delivery of water tanks to the north. Another four missions were impeded on the ground, but three of them were nevertheless accomplished – these included the collection of fuel and food cargo from Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem]. Two other missions had to be cancelled by the organizers.”

OCHA said it continued to call for “unimpeded” humanitarian access, as famine continues to ravage Gaza under Israel’s forced starvation policy.

The US secretary of state has given an interview to US broadcaster Fox News, in which he was questioned on the continued stance towards Israel and Qatar in the wake of Israel’s deadly attack on Doha last week.

Marco Rubio said that regardless of Israel’s attack, which has received global condemnation and was the subject of today’s Arab and Muslim summit in Doha, “we [the US] are hopeful that Qatar and all of our Gulf partners will continue to add something constructive to bringing” an end to the war.

He acknowledged that Qatar and other Gulf nations “are not happy” with Israel’s attack, but reiterated that the US’s relationship with Israel would not change based on its actions in this case.

Rubio is currently in Israel meeting with top officials there, and will travel to Qatar afterwards.

Israel has intensified its strikes in Yemen, targeting the Houthi leadership and plunging the capital Sanaa into deadly chaos.

The attacks have killed dozens, sparked a climate of fear, led to mass detentions – including of United Nations staff – and threatened critical humanitarian aid.

So, how is the escalation being felt by Yemeni civilians?

Watch this episode of Al Jazeera’s The Take to learn more:

The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, says in a brief statement on Telegram that its forces seized “an Israeli quadcopter while carrying out intelligence missions in the skies over Khan Younis”.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that an Israeli attack targeted a car near the entrance of the village of Yater in southern Lebanon earlier today.

Israel has continuously bombed Lebanon despite a nearly year-old ceasefire between it and Hezbollah.

Footage circulating on social media, which has been verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit, shows the aftermath of the strike on Yater, including the flaming wreckage of the car.

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A post shared by Lebanon #1 (@eye.on.llebanon)

Israel has been banned from a prestigious British defence college due to concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The United Kingdom’s government has confirmed that the Royal College of Defence Studies will no longer accept Israelis.

In a statement to The Telegraph newspaper, a spokesperson for the Defence Ministry said “the Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong”.

It added: “There must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”

Responding to the exclusion, Amir Baram, the director general of Israel’s Ministry of Defence, sent a letter to the college and the UK’s Defence Ministry calling the decision “discriminatory” and saying it breaks with the UK’s tradition of tolerance and decency.

“Israel’s exclusion is a profoundly dishonourable act of disloyalty to an ally at war,” the letter said.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, spoke to several people who made the long journey from the north, fleeing Israel’s ongoing assault and operation to seize Gaza City.

“For more than three days, they have been hitting every school and emptying Shati camp [near north Gaza’s coast], striking every area. You cannot even move. That is why I decided to leave with my family, my daughters and my wife, and head to Khan Younis”, one displaced person said.

“I don’t even have a tent. I only took a few things; I couldn’t take anything from my home.”

Eyewitnesses captured the moment Israel bombed and destroyed the tallest residential building in Gaza, the Al-Ghafri high-rise tower in western Gaza City.

The Israeli army has repeatedly hit high-rise buildings in the city in recent days, claiming without evidence that they are being used by Hamas.

Watch our video for more: