Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Gulf leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met with EU counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday for talks they hoped could help defuse an "extremely dangerous escalation" in the Middle East.

For the first time, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend the first Summit of the EU-Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.

He will attend a landmark meeting between leaders of the European Union and Arab Gulf countries in Brussels, according to a Politico article.

The emir of Qatar today expressed his “full support” for Lebanon, assuring that he has ordered aid to the stricken country, where Israeli bombing has caused hundreds of deaths and nearly 1.2 million displaced people, according to an account by Lebanese authorities.

The United States said Friday that progress had been made at the latest round of Gaza truce talks, after the presence of Israeli troops on the Egyptian border emerged as a major sticking point.

The White House said CIA chief William Burns was among U.S. officials taking part in the discussions in Cairo, joining the heads of Israel's spy agency and security service.

This picture taken from Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over the Hamad residential towers in Khan Yunis in the south following Israeli bombardment on Aug. 17, 2024.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has hosted Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Turkish capital to discuss the growing regional escalation following Israel's killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is expected in Athens early next week for an official visit.

The visit comes after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' trip to the emirate's capital, Doha, at the end of February and is part of the effort to bring the two countries closer together economically and diplomatically.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held discussions with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the capital Abu Dhabi.

The Islamic world should increase its efforts to stop the Israeli brutality against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, as Türkiye is ramping up its diplomatic push to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.