(MENAFN) The United Arab Emirates called in Israel’s deputy envoy, David Ahad Horsandi, on Friday to formally object to what it described as a “cowardly and reckless” assault carried out by Israel against Qatar, according to a state news agency.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, expressed Abu Dhabi’s “strong condemnation and denunciation” of the strike, along with criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “aggressive statements.”

She emphasized that Qatar’s safety is closely tied to the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Previously, an Israeli broadcaster reported that Israel’s ambassador to the UAE had also been summoned following an Israeli air raid earlier in the week targeting members of Hamas in Qatar.

On Tuesday, Israeli fighter jets conducted an aerial strike in Doha, aimed at senior Hamas figures, resulting in the deaths of five group members along with one Qatari security personnel.

A day later, Netanyahu delivered remarks directed at Doha, stating: “You either expel them (Hamas) or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will.”

He equated the attack in Doha to the United States’ hunt for Al-Qaeda following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Qatar quickly dismissed the analogy, calling it a “new, miserable justification for Israel’s treacherous practices” and an irresponsible breach of its national sovereignty.

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