Qatari emir urges halting Israeli aggression in Gaza, Lebanon during meeting with Iranian president

By Ibrahim Khazen

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani urged the international community Wednesday to halt Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

His remarks were made during a news conference in Doha alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which was broadcast by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news outlet.

The emir said his meeting with Pezeshkian was “part of ongoing dialogue between the two countries, during which areas of cooperation, particularly in trade and economics, were discussed.”

“We also addressed the critical situation in our region, marked by Israeli aggression against Gaza, the West Bank, and its continued attacks on Lebanon,” he added.

He warned that “the (Israeli) aggression is pushing the region to the edge of the abyss and increasing the risk of escalating violence,” and urged “the international community to pressure Israel to stop its brutal attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.”

Al Thani emphasized that Qatar supports any efforts to de-escalate the conflict and maintain regional stability.

Pezeshkian arrived in Doha earlier in the day for a two-day visit, his first since assuming office in June.

The Iranian president's visit comes hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, with Tel Aviv estimating 180 rockets.

The attack caused casualties, property damage and led to the closure of Israel’s airspace, with millions of Israelis rushing to shelters.

Iran claimed the strikes were in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Tel Aviv’s massacres in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,000 victims and injured over 2,950, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The top leadership of Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Lebanese resistance group and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,700 victims, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October.​​​​​​​

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio