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Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced hotlines to help families with Qatari members, their official news agencies are reporting.
Key points:
- Hotline made for mixed Qatari families, but services unclear.
- Qatar issues statement saying residents have "complete freedom" to stay.
- Some Gulf citizens worried Qatar's foreign policy will divide their people.
The announcement comes after their cutting of diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar led to travel disruption, and the ordering of all Qataris out within 14 days, while calling their own citizens back.
The three Gulf nations said officials would consider "humanitarian cases" as a deadline looms for Qataris to return home, signalling that some may be able to stay in their countries.
The co-ordinated move suggests the Gulf states are seeking to lessen the humanitarian impact of their June 5 decision, which was made in retaliation for what they call Qatar's support for terrorism and their regional foe Iran.
Qatar has called the accusations baseless and have described the measures as a "siege" harmful to ordinary people there.
The three countries' news agencies did not make clear what services the hotline would provide.
Arab nations have tried to isolate Qatar over its alleged support of militant groups and ties to Iran.
Hotline made for mixed families
For its part, Qatar issued a statement saying residents living in the country from nations that severed ties would have "complete freedom" to stay despite the "hostile and tendentious campaigns" now targeting it.
"The state of Qatar, in accordance to its firm beliefs and principles, works on avoiding political conflicts with states and governments when dealing with their people," the ministry said in the statement.
"Those residents have the complete freedom in staying in the state of Qatar in accordance with the laws and regulations adopted by the state."
Amnesty International on June 9 criticised the measures against Qatar as sweeping and arbitrary and said they had split up families and destroyed peoples' livelihoods and education.
Until the political dispute, which has cut air links and banned Qataris from visiting the three countries, Gulf societies enjoyed close travel ties and many families are intermarried.
It has created chaos across the Sunni Gulf nations, whose citizens conduct business across countries sharing long historic and cultural bonds.
But authorities in the UAE and Bahrain have made praise for Qatar's government a criminal offence carrying possible jail time.
Some Gulf citizens have worried that the strong rhetoric on Qatar's foreign policy would divide their peoples.
But in language common to the three countries' announcements, the UAE said it drew a distinction between Qatar's government and its people.
The hotline showed "the UAE's commitment to the wellbeing of the brotherly Qatari people as a natural, authentic extension of their brothers in the UAE", it said.
Qatar crisis
The diplomatic crisis, the worst since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the subsequent Gulf War, has seen Arab nations and others cut ties to Qatar, which hosts a major US military base and will be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Doha is a major international travel hub, but flagship carrier Qatar Airways now flies increasingly over Iran and Turkey after being blocked elsewhere in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has closed its land border crossings to Qatar, which imports nearly all of its food.
In recent days, Turkey has stepped in to supply supermarkets there with eggs and milk after worried residents cleaned out shelves in the early days of the crisis.
Turkey also has decided to send troops to a base it maintains in Qatar in a sign of support.
Kuwait's ruler has been trying to mediate an end to the conflict while US President Donald Trump offered strong criticism of Qatar as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for "no further escalation" in the crisis.
A phone call was held at Mr Tillerson's request with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after Mr Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to ease their blockade of Qatar, saying it was causing unintended humanitarian consequences and affecting the US-led fight against Islamic State.
Referring to Mr Tillerson's comments on the blockade of Qatar, Mr Erdogan said in a speech at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in Istanbul: "I say it should be lifted completely."
AP/Reuters
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, travel-health-and-safety, international-aid-and-trade, international-law, unrest-conflict-and-war, qatar, saudi-arabia, bahrain, united-arab-emirates