GCC defence council approves new measures after Israeli strike on Qatar

The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Joint Defence Council has strongly condemned the Israeli military attack on Qatar, calling it a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The extraordinary meeting, held in Doha on Thursday and chaired by Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, brought together defence ministers from all GCC countries.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi declared that an attack on Qatar is an attack on all GCC states, affirming full support for Qatar’s right to defend its territory and security.

The Council also approved a series of immediate defensive measures. These include:

• Enhanced intelligence sharing through the Unified Military Command,
• Coordinated air surveillance - sharing aerial situational awareness across all operations centres in GCC countries,
• Faster deployment of a regional early warning system - accelerating the work of the GCC joint task force for the early warning system against ballistic missiles,
• Updating joint defence plans in coordination between the Unified Military Command and the Operations & Training Committee of the GCC, and
• A series of joint air defence drills - joint exercises between air operations and air defence centers over the next three months, followed by a joint live air drill.

Officials say these steps are part of broader efforts to reinforce regional defence, in line with directives from GCC leaders issued earlier this week in Doha.

The Council emphasised that the security of the Gulf is indivisible, and any threat to one member is a threat to all.

The attack, it added, undermines ongoing Qatari diplomatic efforts to help secure a ceasefire in Gaza and mediate the release of hostages.