Qatar began three days of official mourning on Monday following the death of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani at age 74. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a stream of foreign leaders and senior officials at Lusail Palace, where they offered condolences on behalf of their governments and royal families.

On instructions from King Mohammed VI, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch delivered a written message of condolence to Emir Tamim, accompanied by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and the kingdom’s ambassador. According to Moroccan official accounts, the Qatari emir expressed gratitude and highlighted the “personal links” and “solidity of relations” between the two countries. The message from the Moroccan monarch, portions of which were published, spoke of “profound affliction” and prayed for mercy and patience.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan each telephoned Emir Tamim to convey sympathies, with the Qatari emir thanking them for their “sincere fraternal sentiments.” In-person delegations included the crown princes of Kuwait and Bahrain, the president of Rwanda, the prime ministers of Pakistan and Lebanon, and the crown prince of Ajman, who relayed condolences from the ruler of that emirate. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent a cable describing the late sheikh as “one of the great builders of the sisterly State of Qatar” and recalling his “special affection” for Algeria. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a ministerial delegation to Doha, while Lebanon’s interior minister signed a condolence book at the Qatari embassy in Beirut, noting the former emir’s “love for Lebanon and his keenness to support it in difficult times.”

Sheikh Hamad, who abdicated in favour of his son in 2013, presided over Qatar’s emergence as a major energy exporter and an active diplomatic player. The presence of mourners from states that were party to the 2017–2021 blockade of Qatar — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt — alongside other Arab and African leaders, illustrates the current equilibrium in Gulf relations. The amiri diwan announced that Emir Tamim would continue receiving condolences at Lusail Palace through Wednesday, with morning and evening sessions open to ruling family members, dignitaries, and citizens.