Top diplomats from Arab and Islamic countries were on Sunday meeting in Qatar ahead of an emergency summit called to address an Israeli attack that targeted leaders of the Palestinian militant Hamas movement in the Gulf country earlier in the week.

The foreign ministers of the Arab League and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) started their talks with a meeting behind closed doors in Doha, the Qatari news network al-Jazeera reported.

The ministers are setting the scene for the summit scheduled for Monday in Doha.

The summit will discuss a draft statement on the Israeli attack prepared by the foreign ministers, a Qatari official said.

"Convening the summit at this time reflects broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in confronting the cowardly Israeli aggression," the Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokesman Majid al-Ansari added.

At the summit, the leaders will consider several options for potential decisions, including an unequivocal condemnation of the attack, coordinated diplomatic pressure on Israel at international forums, and economic steps that may reach the level of a boycott, the Qatari news outlet al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.

Israel struck a residential area of Doha on Tuesday, killing six people including a Qatari security officer.

The dead included the son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas' most influential figure abroad, and his chief of staff.

The Islamist group said its top leadership had survived the assassination attempt.

The strike has drawn global condemnation and a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump.

Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, is mediating in the ongoing Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas.