Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Monday for Israel to be barred from international sport over the Gaza war, as it emerged his government had also cancelled an $825 million military contract with the country.

Sanchez expressed "deep admiration" for thousands of protesters who forced the halt of the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana, one of the world's biggest cycling races, in Spain on Sunday.

He said Israel should be penalised just as Russia was over its invasion of Ukraine -- angering Israel, which had a team in the race, as well as Spanish conservatives.

Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of ties with Israel after emergency talks in Doha on Monday following last week's deadly strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital.

The Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation joint session, which brought together nearly 60 countries, sought to take firm action after Israel's attack on Qatar-hosted Hamas officials as they discussed a Gaza ceasefire proposal.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -The top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights, Francesca Albanese, said Israel was trying to make Gaza City unliveable in its assault on the enclave's largest urban area and was endangering the lives of Israeli hostages.

"Israel is bombing using unconventional weapons ... it is trying to forcibly evacuate Palestinians. Why? This is the last piece of Gaza that needs to be rendered unliveable before advancing the ethnic cleansing of that piece of land," Albanese told reporters in Geneva.

DOHA (Reuters) -Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday that Israel's current actions hindered any chances of new peace treaties in the Middle East.

In remarks aimed at Israel, he told the Arab-Islamic summit in Doha: "What is happening right now hinders the future of peace, threatens your security and the security of the peoples in the region and adds obstacles to chances for any new peace agreements and even aborts existing ones."

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Alex Richardson)

By Andrew Mills, Jana Choukeir and Simon Lewis

DOHA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he didn't rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders "wherever they are" as the heads of Arab and Islamic states held a summit to show support for Qatar after Israel's attack on the Gulf state last week.

The September 9 strike targeting leaders of the Palestinian militant group in Doha marked a significant escalation of Israeli military action in a region shaken by conflict since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that ignited the Gaza war.

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) -Iran's uranium-enrichment programme must be "completely dismantled", U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the U.N. nuclear watchdog's annual General Conference on Monday.

The U.S. and Israel bombed Iran's uranium-enrichment plants in June, arguing Iran was getting too close to being able to produce a nuclear weapon, even though the International Atomic Energy Agency that inspects Iran's nuclear facilities said it had no credible indication of a coordinated weapons programme.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday reiterated his "deep admiration" for pro-Palestinian protesters who forced the final stage of one of the most important international cycling races to be abandoned at the weekend.

He also said Israel should be barred from international sporting competitions "as long as the barbarism continues" in Gaza, like Russian sport teams were penalised after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has banned Israelis from attending a prestigious London defence studies college due to the escalation of the war in Gaza, the UK's Ministry of Defence said on Monday, prompting an angry response from Israel.

While Britain remains a close ally of Israel's, it has recently tried to pressure its government over the conflict, threatening in July to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in the enclave.

By Samia Nakhoul and Timour Azhari

QARDAHA/JARAMANA, Syria (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has won major diplomatic victories since seizing power nine months ago, but he risks losing the battle that matters most: to hold his deeply divided country together.

In Syria's northeast, Kurdish forces are resisting integration into the state after 14 years of civil war, and are demanding a new constitution to recognize their rights. In the southeast, members of the Druze community are openly calling for independence after violent clashes with government forces.

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday said Israel and Russia should be banned from international sports competitions until "barbaric acts" end, referring to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Sanchez said he condemned the violent protests by pro-Palestinian on Sunday in Madrid which disrupted the La Vuelta cycling race and ultimately led to the cancellation of the final leg and the podium ceremony.

(Reporting by Joan Faus, editing by Inti Landauro)