UN rights council to debate Israel’s attack on Qatar today

The United Nations Human Rights Council said it would host an urgent debate today on Israel’s airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar. The council said on Monday the debate would be convened after it received two official requests, one from Pakistan on behalf of member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the other […]

The United Nations Human Rights Council said it would host an urgent debate today on Israel’s airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar.

The council said on Monday the debate would be convened after it received two official requests, one from Pakistan on behalf of member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the other from Kuwait on behalf of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

The UN council said its 10th urgent debate since its creation in 2006 would “discuss the recent military aggression carried out by the State of Israel against the State of Qatar on 9 September 2025”.

Israel targeted Hamas leaders last week in strikes on the Qatari capital, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer.

The attack drew widespread international condemnation, including from Gulf monarchies allied with the United States, Israel’s main backer.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Defence Studies said Israelis will be barred from enrolling at the prestigious government-run defence studies institute in London over the war in Gaza, UK media reported Monday.

The post-graduate college part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom offers training for “strategic thinkers and leaders within the armed forces and civil service”, according to its website, with international students allowed to study specific courses.

A UK Ministry of Defence official in June confirmed to parliament that the college was providing “non-combat academic courses” to “fewer than five” members of the Israeli military.

The ministry did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment.

Britain has suspended some arms export licences to Israel for weapons used in Gaza, but some UK-made parts, such as components for Israeli F-35 warplanes, were exempt.

Last week, Israeli officials were banned from attending a major arms fair in London as Prime Minister Keir Starmer tries to put some distance between his government and Israel’s war against Hamas.