Iran president urges Muslim countries to cut ties with Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday urged Muslim countries to cut ties with Israel ahead of an summit responding to an unprecedented Israeli strike on Hamas members in Qatar.

"It is possible that Islamic countries cut their ties with this fake regime and maintain unity and cohesion as much as possible," Pezeshkian said before departing for Doha, adding that he hoped the summit would "reach a conclusion" on measures against Israel, AFP reports.

An emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic states is taking place in Qatar in response to Israel's air strike on Hamas leaders in Doha last week.

A draft resolution seen by the Reuters news agency condemns what it calls Israel's "hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, [and] starvation", which it says threatens "prospects of peace and coexistence". Israel has strongly denied such allegations.

It is not clear what practical decisions could be taken, as analysts say any kind of military response is out of the question, BBC reports.

Earlier, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani urged the international community to stop applying "double standards" and to punish Israel.

Qatar has played a key role in brokering diplomatic efforts to end the war, serving as a mediator of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

It has hosted the Hamas political bureau since 2012 and is a close US ally, hosting a large American airbase in the desert near Doha.