US reportedly demands Hamas exit Qatar amid stalled Gaza talks

The United States will no longer accept Hamas maintaining a political office in Qatar, according to senior US officials who spoke anonymously to Reuters.

Officials said Qatar agreed 10 days ago to tell Hamas to close its Doha office, which has been operating since 2012 when it was established at the Obama administration’s request to facilitate communication with the group. Hamas officials have denied these reports to the BBC, while Qatar has not yet commented.

The reported move comes after Hamas rejected recent ceasefire proposals, insisting on a complete end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group’s position in Qatar, which hosts a major US air base, has provided crucial diplomatic channels for negotiations.

If forced to relocate, Hamas could potentially move to Turkey, which as a NATO member might offer relative safety while maintaining diplomatic channels. Iran is another possibility, though security concerns exist following the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July.

The US push appears aimed at pressuring Hamas into a peace deal before President Biden’s term ends in January. It comes amid deteriorating US-Israeli relations over humanitarian concerns in Gaza and increasing frustration with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s approach to ending the conflict.

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, has sought to play a key role in ceasefire negotiations during the year-long war.

Israel has killed at least 43,000 Palestinians, with 102,000 wounded, since the October 7 attack by Hamas, which killed around 1,200 Israelis. Israel has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.

Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.