Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe UN Human Rights Council will debate Israel's airstrike on Qatar, affecting regional ties. The session was requested by Pakistan and Kuwait.
GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate in Geneva on Tuesday on Israel's September 9 attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, the Council said on Monday.
The September 9 airstrike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalised relations in 2020.
The debate was requested by Pakistan on behalf of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and by Kuwait on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The request came as leaders of Arab and Islamic states were meeting in Doha on Monday, where they were expected to warn that Israel's attack on Qatar and other "hostile acts" threaten coexistence and efforts to normalise ties in the region, according to a draft resolution of that gathering.
Tuesday's urgent debate will be the 10th of its kind to be held at the U.N. Human Rights Council since its creation in 2006.
Israel has been widely accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including by the world's biggest group of genocide scholars, during its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.
Israel rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defence following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
(Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Gareth Jones)
The debate was requested by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and by Kuwait for the Gulf Cooperation Council in response to Israel's airstrike on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Tuesday's urgent debate will be the 10th of its kind to be held at the U.N. Human Rights Council since its creation in 2006.
Israel rejects the accusations of genocide against Palestinians, citing its right to self-defense following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants.
Hamas claims that the September 9 airstrike killed five of its members but did not target its leadership.
Leaders of Arab and Islamic states were meeting in Doha to discuss the implications of Israel's attack on Qatar and to warn that such actions threaten coexistence.
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