Anger from Qatar ruler

QATAR was hosting a summit of leaders of Arab and Islamic nations yesterday, in the hope of presenting a united response to Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Doha last week. But the group has few ways to restrain Israel as its war in the Gaza Strip grinds on.

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Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, and since then it has also retaliated against the militant group and other members of Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance elsewhere, including in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Qatar. That has led to wider anger among Middle East nations, already enraged by the more than 64,000 Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza - and a growing concern that the United States' commitment to protect Gulf Arab states may not be strong enough.

However, it remains unclear just what the summit will be able to achieve. Significant tensions among the nations meeting could blunt cooperation - and they also have few levers they can pull.