Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani on Tuesday urged the international community to not grant Israel "unrestricted authorisation to kill" amid the state's ongoing bombardment on Gaza which has killed more than 5,000 civilians.
The emir made the plea - his first public comment since Qatar began its most recent efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas - in an annual speech to open the Gulf Arab state's advisory Shura council.
"We say enough. Israel shouldn't be granted an unconditional green light and unrestricted authorisation to kill," Sheikh Tamim said, adding that the bombardment was a dangerous escalation that threatens global security.
Gaza's health ministry said Tuesday morning that the death toll in two weeks of Israeli air strikes was 5,300, with more than 18,000 people wounded.
Since then, Qatar opened dialogue with both Israel and Hamas which led to four hostages held by Hamas being released, including two Israeli women on Monday.
"We call for a serious regional and international stance against this dangerous escalation that we are witnessing, which threatens the security of the region and the world," Sheikh Tamim said.
"We do not accept double standards and acting like the lives of Palestinian children aren't accounted for, as if they don't have faces or names."
Other Arab leaders have Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has received apparent backing from the US and other western states.
Jordan King Abdullah said last weekend: "The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones."
(Reuters)