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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog for a contentious meeting Wednesday, with the visiting head of state vowing to “voice firm opposition” to Britain’s recent stance on Israel.Herzog’s visit comes after Starmer’s government has in recent months toughened its criticism of how Israel is waging its war in Gaza, triggering pushback from Israeli leaders.The pair shook hands in front of photographers and TV cameras in Downing Street, with few smiles on display, as the meeting got underway Wednesday afternoon.”The President will express strong objections to the British government’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state, and protest the notion of sanctions against the only democracy in the Middle East,” Herzog’s office said.Starmer announced in late July his government would recognise a Palestinian state in mid-September unless Israel takes specific steps towards peace in Gaza.It has also sanctioned Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir.Rights groups and some UK lawmakers, including from the ruling centre-left Labour party, have said the government should not have allowed Herzog’s visit to go ahead.Amid criticism of Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day, Starmer told MPs earlier Wednesday he would make it “absolutely clear” that “we condemn Israel’s action”.He also vowed to stress that “restrictions on aid must be lifted, the offensive in Gaza must stop, and settlement building must cease” in occupied Palestinian territories.Starmer’s government has also come under pressure from critics of Israel to say the country has committed genocide in its military campaign in Gaza.Shouts of “stop the genocide” could be heard from a protester outside the Downing Street gates as Herzog arrived.A protester threw a red smoke canister towards Herzog’s convoy as it left. Police were seen detaining a person and removing the canister after the vehicles drove away.London insisted this week it has not determined Israel is committing genocide, following the publication by a parliamentary watchdog committee of a September 1 letter by then-foreign secretary David Lammy.It stated: “As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’.”The Government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”Starmer’s official spokesman has said that the letter — written just prior to Lammy becoming interior minister in a government reshuffle last week — “reflects the UK’s position that we’ve not come to any conclusion” on the matter.

Israeli air strikes on Huthi-held Yemen killed nine people and wounded more than 100 on Wednesday, the Iran-backed rebels said, days after their prime minister and half the cabinet died in a major attack.The Huthi armed forces’ media operation in Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, was hit in the attacks, along with a Huthi complex in Jawf province, the group said.Israel has launched repeated attacks on Huthi targets during the Gaza war, as the Iran-backed rebels fire missiles and drones at Israel and Red Sea shipping, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian cause.Nine people died and 118 were wounded, Huthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi posted on X. “Civil defence, ambulances and rescue teams are still searching for the missing,” he added.The toll included seven dead and 100 wounded at the media building in Sanaa, and two dead and 20 wounded in Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia, Alasbahi said.A large plume of grey smoke billowed above Sanaa as the strikes echoed across the city, which has been controlled by the Huthis for more than a decade.- High-profile assassinations -The Huthis’ prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area last month.The killings were the most high-profile assassinations of Huthi officials during nearly two years of hostilities with Israel over the Gaza war.The latest air strikes come after a drone launched from Yemen struck Ramon airport in southern Israel on Sunday, wounding one person.Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said journalists working for the September 26 and al-Yaman newspapers were among those killed at the “Moral Guidance Headquarters” in Sanaa.The Israeli military also said it struck the armed forces’ media operations, among other facilities.The targets included “military camps in which operatives of the terrorist regime were identified, the Huthis’ military public relations headquarters and a fuel storage facility that was used by the terrorist regime”, an Israeli military statement said.The Huthis’ Al-Masirah television said the strikes in Jawf hit a Central Bank branch building in the city of Al-Hazm, wounding employees.The Huthis said they fought back with air defences, without giving details.Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Huthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks against Israel.In response, Israel has carried out rounds of retaliatory strikes in Yemen, mainly targeting infrastructure such as ports, power stations and the international airport in Sanaa.

Ahmed was in a university lecture when he heard the bangs: loud explosions from unprecedented Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas that shattered Qatar’s peace and put the wealthy Gulf region on edge.”Honestly no one expected it to be an explosion (from an attack) here. I thought construction workers had dropped something heavy,” the 27-year-old Qatari student, who did not want to give his family name, told AFP.Shock rippled across the tiny, gas-rich emirate as the strikes hit the Palestinian militant group’s compound in an upscale neighbourhood of Doha on Tuesday, killing six.The attack, just three months after Iran attacked a US airbase in Qatar, again punctured the aura of calm that pervades the Gulf, which prides and promotes itself as an oasis of peace in the troubled Middle East.It also cast serious doubt on Qatar-mediated Gaza ceasefire talks and undermined security reassurances to the Gulf from key ally Washington.In a show of neighbourly solidarity, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan flew to Qatar on Wednesday, and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will arrive on Thursday.”(Qatar) has long been under a US security umbrella,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in a post on X. “Now the Gulf will question the credibility of US security guarantees.”- ‘Surprised we were struck twice’ -Any hint of instability could jeopardise Gulf economies that largely rely on foreign workers and are striving to draw tourism and investment to diversify their fossil fuel-reliant economies. “The entire region will now fear that Israel could act against its adversaries regardless of borders or national sovereignty,” said Prem Kumar, who oversaw US policy in the Middle East under the Obama administration.Assem, 29, whose family found refuge in Qatar from the Palestinian territories decades ago, voiced surprise at the recent turbulence.”For 29 years I’ve lived here safely… So I am very surprised that in a short period of time we were struck twice in a very protected and very safe country,” he said.Hamas says senior officials were not killed in Tuesday’s attack, which came as they met to discuss a new Gaza ceasefire proposal from Washington.An aide and the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the top Hamas negotiator, and three bodyguards died, along with a Qatari security officer, the group said.Doha has hosted several rounds of indirect Israel-Hamas talks in Doha and helped broker two short-lived truces, with the US and Egypt as fellow mediators. While Qatar’s prime minister insisted mediation efforts will continue, he said no negotiations were planned currently in light of the attack.Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, called it a “strike right at the heart of regional mediation” — and one that Washington failed to prevent.”It shows that Trump is unable to actually enforce the policy that he is setting, which was one built around mediation,” he told AFP.- Trump plane gift -A major Western ally, Qatar houses the biggest US base in the region and agreed to host the Hamas political bureau from 2012 only with US blessing.US President Donald Trump toured the Gulf in May, securing investment pledges worth hundreds of billions of dollars and a major order for Boeing planes from Qatar Airways.Qatar even gifted Trump a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as the new Air Force One, the official presidential plane.Yet Qatar’s warm relations with the United States could not shield it from the Israeli strikes on Hamas.Trump said he was not notified in advance and when he heard, asked his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar immediately — but the attack had already started.The strike “will also put further strain on US-Qatar relations, which is exactly what Israel wants to do”, said Krieg.”It wants to drive a wedge between Qatar and the United States.”

In a stunning development, Israel launched a surprise air raid targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital Doha Tuesday, killing six people including the son of the group’s lead negotiator in ceasefire talks.While Israel has not disclosed the results of the operation, Hamas said its senior officials survived the barrage, while several others were killed.  Here is a breakdown of the details of the strike on the tiny Gulf state that has served as a key mediator in the Gaza war. – What happened? -The attack occurred at 3:46 pm (1246 GMT) in a residential neighbourhood in north Doha, which is also home to diplomats, foreign dignitaries, embassies, schools and a daycare centre. Witnesses reported hearing several explosions and seeing thick smoke rising from the area. The strikes targeted a villa complex housing Hamas members, which was quickly sealed off by police. Access to the area remained restricted on Wednesday.Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012 — with the blessing of the United States that has sought to maintain a communication channel with the group. Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in the emirate after his assassination in Tehran in July 2024 in an attack attributed to Israel. His predecessor Khaled Meshaal, along with Khalil al-Hayya — the movement’s lead negotiator in the Gaza ceasefire talks — are based in the emirate. – Who were the targets? -According to sources close to the movement, six Hamas leaders — including Hayya, former leader Meshaal and Zaher Jabarin, who heads the movement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — were in the building targeted by Israel at the time of the strikes. AFP has been unable to reach any of them since. A Hamas official, Souheil al-Hindi, stated Tuesday evening that the group was meeting to discuss President Donald Trump’s latest ceasefire proposal aiming to end the war in Gaza. The movement’s leaders survived the attack, he added. However, five other members were killed, along with a member of Qatar’s security forces, he added. – Who was killed? -The Qatari interior ministry has confirmed the deaths of three people so far — Qatari officer Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari, who was on the premises, Hamam Khalil al-Hayya, son of Hamas’s chief negotiator, and Mumen Hassoun, described by the movement as a bodyguard. Hamas announced that three other people were also killed — Jihad Labad, who was director of Khalil al-Hayya’s office, as well as bodyguards Ahmad Mamlouk and Abdallah Abdelwahd. – How has Qatar reacted? -In short, Qatar is furious.Qatar, a key Western ally that hosts a large US military base, said it was caught off guard by the strike and slammed the attack, calling it a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty. The strike marked the second time the Gulf state had been targeted with a barrage in recent months. In June, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the US base following a US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “Qatar’s air defences responded with precision to the waves of Iranian missiles, but the Israeli enemy used weapons that were undetectable by radar,” said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. He went on to emphasise that his country was informed by its US allies only after the attack had begun. President Trump said he was only informed of the air raid at the last minute.  “I immediately directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack,” he said.  

Israel’s UN envoy defended targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar as the “right” decision on Wednesday, after the strikes on the US ally’s soil drew a rare rebuke from President Donald Trump.The White House said Trump did not agree with Israel’s decision to take military action on Tuesday and had warned Qatar in advance of the incoming strikes.But Qatar, which hosts a large US military base and has spearheaded repeated rounds of Gaza truce efforts, said it had not received the warning from Washington until the deadly attack was already under way.Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, sought to justify the decision, telling an Israeli radio station: “We don’t always act in the interests of the United States.””We are coordinated, they give us incredible support, we appreciate that, but sometimes we make decisions and inform the United States,” he said.”It was not an attack on Qatar; it was an attack on Hamas,” Danon told 103FM.Palestinian militant group Hamas said six people were killed in the strikes, including an aide and an adult son of its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, as well as three bodyguards and a Qatari security officer.But the group said its senior leaders had survived, affirming “the enemy’s failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation”.Danon said Israel was “still waiting for the results” of the operation.”It is too early to comment on the outcome, but the decision is the right one,” he added.According to sources close to Hamas, six Hamas leaders including Hayya and former top leader Khaled Meshaal were in the building targeted by Israel at the time of the strike. AFP has been unable to reach any of them since then.Qatar said the strikes targeted the homes of several members of Hamas’s political bureau residing in the Gulf country.- ‘Not thrilled’ -Trump said he was not notified in advance of the Israeli attack and was “not thrilled about the whole situation”.Speaking to reporters during a rare outing to a Washington restaurant, he said: “We want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.”Qatar’s prime minister said it reserved the right to respond to the Israeli attack, which it said constituted a “pivotal moment” for region.Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed that Israel would “act against its enemies anywhere”.”There is no place where they can hide,” he wrote on X, adding that “everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre will be held fully accountable,” referring to Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the nearly two-year Gaza war.In a post on social media, Trump insisted that “this was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me”.”I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” he said, adding Hamas’s elimination was still a “worthy goal”.- ‘Grave violation’ – Russia and China meanwhile joined an international chorus of condemnation on Wednesday, with Moscow saying the operation undermined peace efforts in the Middle East.”Russia considers the incident a grave violation of international law… an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state, and a step leading to further escalation,” said Russia’s foreign ministry.Beijing expressed similar concerns and “dissatisfaction with actions by certain parties that undermine the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza”.Along with the United States and Egypt, Qatar has led multiple attempts to end the Israel-Hamas war and secure the release of the remaining hostages.Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,605 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she would push to sanction “extremist” Israeli ministers and curb trade ties over the dire situation in Gaza.Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, hit back, writing on X that Europe was sending “the wrong message that strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East.”