Middle East: Israel to get ready for 'isolation' — Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he was not informed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's attack in Qatar last week.

Asked if Netanyahu had alerted him that Israel was planning the strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, Trump said, "No, no, they didn't." 

Trump's comments came after an Axios report said that Netanyahu had informed the US president shortly before the strike.

The Trump administration, however, has said it was notified only after missiles were already in flight, giving Trump no chance to respond.

After the report, the Israeli prime minister's office reiterated that last Tuesday's strike targeting Hamas political leaders in Qatar was a "wholly independent" Israeli operation.

In the wake of Israel's airstrike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Arab and Muslim leaders called for "all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people."

They made the call after an emergency meeting of the leaders of 57 Arab and Islamic states in Qatar's capital.

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which held its own meeting on the sidelines of the summit, decided to take steps "to activate the mechanisms of joint defense and the Gulf deterrence. "

The Gulf states also urged the US to use its influence to rein in Israel. 

"They have leverage and influence on Israel, and it's about time that this leverage and influence be used," the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General, Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Israel on Monday, will head to Qatar next to voice "America's full support for Qatar's security and sovereignty," the US State Department said. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for Israel and Russia to be barred from international sports competitions, citing what he described as "barbaric acts" in Gaza and Ukraine.

He expressed "deep admiration" for thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who forced the Vuelta e Espana cycle race's final stage to be abandoned.

The protesters repeatedly targeted the race because of the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team.

"Our position is clear and categorical: as long as the barbarity continues, neither Russia nor Israel should participate in any international competition," Sanchez said.

Cycling's global governing body, UCI, said it "regretted" the Spanish government's support for the protests and it "could call into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events."

Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the cancellation of a concert by Israeli conductor Lahav Shani in Belgium as "blatant antisemitism."

Last week, organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent in Belgium said the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra would no longer perform on September 18 as planned due to concerns surrounding conductor Laha Shani.

In a statement, the organizers said they were "unable to provide sufficient clarity about his [Shani's] attitude" towards the Israeli government, which they referred to as a "genocidal regime."

The decision has drawn international criticism, including from Belgium's Prime Minister and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

On Monday, Steinmeier hosted Shani in Berlin ahead of a performance of the Munich Philharmonic in the city in the evening. 

Born in Tel Aviv in 1989, Lahav Shani is considered one of classical music's brightest young stars. He is a conductor, pianist and double bassist.

Though he is already directing concerts with the Munich Philharmonic, he will officially become the new chief conductor of the German orchestra starting in September 2026. 

The Qatari ambassador to Berlin said his country is "evaluating the situation" following the Israeli strike in Doha that targeted several members of Palestinian militant group Hamas that reside in the city.

In a conversation with DW, ambassador Abdulla Al Hamar said Qatar is a "very small, peaceful" country that was hit by a "barbaric" Israeli attack, while trying to "help release the (Israeli hostages)."

"That what we've been rewarded with from the Netanyahu government," he said.

Al Hamar also warned the mediation efforts could be harmed due to the anger felt by the Qatari people after the Israeli attack.

The diplomat also praised the ties between Qatar and the US, and expressed hope that Washington will tell Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's strike on Qatar is unacceptable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country's decision to launch an airstrike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar.

Almost a week after the Israeli strike in Doha, there has been no confirmation that any of the strike's targets was killed as a result, with Hamas saying its targeted leaders are all still alive.

"I don't accept the premise that the attack failed," Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

According to Netanyahu, the attack's purpose was to "send out a message to terrorists: You can run, but we'll get you."

"Terrorists should not have immunity, wherever they are," Netanyahu said, comparing the Israeli attack to US strikes targeting Al Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

The Israeli strike in Qatar resulted in widespread condemnations from around the world.

Jean-Guy Vataux, Head of Mission for Gaza from Doctors Without Borders says the situation in Gaza is "hell," especially with the Israeli military's operation increasing in scale.

"Most of the movements we ask for at the moment have been denied by the Israeli army," he says.

Looking ahead, with the Israeli operation in Gaza City looming, Vataux says the hundreds of thousands to move to the enclave's southern parts threaten to collapse the area's health system as a whole.

"Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for humanitarian action," he told DW, adding that the Gaza residents who go towards the south, as asked by Israel, will not have enough supplies and hospital beds.

"We're facing a real disaster in terms of provision of healthcare," he said. There is not enough water, food, or shelter available in the south for the people fleeing, Givateau added.

"In the south, all the hospitals are [already] overwhelmed," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel must prepare "for some sort of (international) isolation."

Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli media as saying the country will need to be ready for "getting more and more used to an economy with autarkic (self-sufficient) aspects."

"We will need to develop our weapon industry here… We don't have a choice," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader also said Europe's Muslim population would be party responsible for Israel's isolation.

"We live in a very challenging world. The Muslims who immigrated to Europe have become a significant, vocal minority. It bends local governments on Gaza," he said.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Netanyahu for his statement, saying the Israeli leader is responsible for the country's diplomatic issues.

"Netanyahu's statement that Israel is entering (international) isolation… is a mad statement," Lapid said, adding that Netanyahu and the Israeli government are turning Israel into a "third world country."
 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Hamas "feels emboldened" by the announcement of several Western countries to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

According to Rubio, Hamas "walked away from agreements that they actually had tacitly agreed to" due to what he called "the international support they believe they're getting."

The recognition of Palestine is "largely symbolic" and has "no impact whatsoever about bringing us any closer to a Palestinian state," Rubio said.

The US diplomat spoke at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu in Jerusalem.

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is continuing his visit to Israel in the wake of the Israeli attack on Hamas officials in Qatar, and multiple countries are expected to acknowledge Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly next week.

We are also looking at the situation in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to expand.

This blog will feature the latest news from the region as well as analysis, multimedia content and on-the-ground reporting from DW correspondents.