The United Arab Emirates has summoned Israel’s deputy ambassador in Abu Dhabi, escalating regional outrage over Tuesday’s airstrike in Doha that left six people dead.
The move marks one of the UAE’s strongest rebukes of Israel since the 2020 Abraham Accords, under which Abu Dhabi normalized ties with Tel Aviv.
The Foreign Ministry described the strike as a “blatant and cowardly attack” on a fellow Gulf state, adding that it undermines collective Gulf security.
Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, told Israeli envoy David Ohad Horsandi that any assault on a GCC member “constitutes an attack on the regional security framework.”
Israel insists its strike was a precision operation against senior Hamas leaders allegedly operating out of Qatar.
Hamas confirmed the deaths of five of its members but said no senior figures were among them. A Qatari security officer in his 20s was also killed.
The attack has shaken a region that has largely been insulated from the Gaza conflict.
Qatar, a key US ally and mediator in past negotiations, has condemned the strike, while the UAE’s rare diplomatic summoning adds to mounting pressure on Israel.
READ ALSO: Israel Strikes Hamas Leaders in Qatar’s Capital, Sparks Global Outrage
Arab and Islamic leaders are preparing to convene in Doha on Sunday for an emergency summit to coordinate a collective response.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later today.
The White House has distanced itself from the incident. President Donald Trump said Washington was not informed ahead of the strike and had advised Israel against escalating military actions in the Gulf.
Israel’s own diplomatic presence in the UAE is under question amid unconfirmed reports that Ambassador Yossi Shelley was recalled earlier this year over alleged misconduct. The foreign ministry in Jerusalem has not commented.
The latest escalation underscores the fragile balance between Gulf states’ cautious engagement with Israel and their deepening alarm over the expanding conflict in the region.