Qatar has stepped back from its role as a primary mediator in Gaza ceasefire negotiations and has agreed to expel Hamas leaders from its capital, as its Doha office “no longer serves its purpose”, as per various media reports.
Despite months of negotiations alongside the United States and Egypt, Qatar’s efforts to secure a truce involving hostage and prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel have been unsuccessful.
Qatar informed both parties that mediation efforts would cease due to their unwillingness to negotiate a “deal in good faith”, a source was quoted as saying by news agency AFP
The source confirmed that Qatar had notified Israel, Hamas and the US administration about this decision.
Qatar indicated its willingness to resume mediation only when both parties show genuine interest in negotiations.
Qatar has been hosting Hamas officials in Doha since 2012, providing a place for the group’s leadership after they fled Damascus due to the Syrian civil war.
Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year, both Qatari and US officials maintained that Hamas would remain in Doha whilst providing viable communication channels.
In April, Qatar announced a review of its mediator role amid criticism from Israeli and US politicians. Hamas officials briefly relocated to Turkey during this period but returned after two weeks at US and Israeli request, as negotiations proved ineffective during their absence.
Despite achieving a week-long pause in hostilities last year and securing the release of several hostages, subsequent negotiation attempts have failed to end the conflict.
Recent efforts to revitalise talks, including fresh in-person discussions initiated by Washington and Doha last month, have not yielded results.
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 diplomatic source was quoted as saying by AFP.