Qatar out of Gaza talks, warns Hamas over Doha office: diplomatic source

DUBAI: Qatar has withdrawn as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and warned Hamas that its Doha office “no longer serves its purpose”, a diplomatic source told AFP on Saturday.

Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in months of fruitless negotiations for a truce with a hostage and prisoner releases.

“The Qataris informed both the Israelis and Hamas that as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

“As a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose,” the source said.

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The informed source said Qatar had already “notified both sides, Israel and Hamas as well as the US administration” of its decision.

“The Qataris conveyed to the US administration that they would be ready to re-engage in mediation when both sides… demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table”, the source added.

Qatar, which is home to a major US military base, has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with Washington’s blessing.

During the talks after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year, both Qatari and US officials indicated that the group would remain in Doha as long as its presence offered a viable channel of communication.

Qatar said in April that it was reassessing its role as a mediator in the conflict as it was facing criticism, notably from Israeli and US politicians.

At that time, the Qataris gave a similar message over the status of the Hamas office, prompting Hamas officials to leave for Turkiye, the diplomatic source said.

But they returned after two weeks at the request of the United States and Israel, as negotiations were “ineffective” while they were in Turkiye, the source said.

Apart from a one-week pause in the fighting late last year, during which scores of Hamas-held hostages were released, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to halt the war.

To break the deadlock near the end of US President Joe Biden’s term and in the run-up to this week’s US elections, Washington and Doha last month announced fresh in-person talks to explore new options.

But the latest initiative produced no breakthrough.

The diplomatic source said Qatar had “concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side, with the mediation efforts becoming more about politics and elections rather than a serious attempt to secure peace”.

Qatar “advised the US administration and both parties that it would not accept being subjected to political exploitation aimed at gaining political leverage at Qatar’s expense while misleading public perception”, the source added.