Qatar's Emir: What is happening in region is 'collective genocide'

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has said on Thursday said the crisis in the Middle East is a "collective genocide" and that his country has always warned of Israel's "impunity".

"It has become crystal clear that what is happening is genocide, in addition to turning the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human habitation, in preparation for displacement," he said during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit in Doha.

More than 41,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israel's assault on the besieged enclave since October 7, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run territory.

This week, Israel launched a ground incursion in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which has been firing into Israel in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians.