Qatar stalls its Gaza ceasefire mediation

Qatar has told Palestinian group Hamas and Israel it will stall its efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until they show “willingness and seriousness” to resume talks, its foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The Gulf country has been working alongside the United States and Egypt for months on fruitless talks between the warring sides in Gaza and any disengagement from that process could further complicate efforts to reach a deal.

The Qatari ministry also said press reports on the future of the Hamas political office in Doha were inaccurate without specifying how. Reuters had on Friday quoted a U.S. official saying Washington had asked Qatar to expel the group and that Doha had passed this message on to Hamas.

An official briefed on the matter also said on Saturday that Qatar had concluded that with its mediation efforts paused, Hamas’ political office there “no longer serves its purpose.”

But three Hamas officials speaking off the record said the group had not been informed by Qatar that its leaders were no longer welcome in the country.

Qatar has hosted Hamas political leaders since 2012 as part of a deal with the U.S., and the group’s presence there has facilitated the progress of talks.

The war erupted when Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing another 253 as hostages. Israel’s military campaign has levelled much of Gaza and killed around 43,500 Palestinians.

“Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago during the last attempts to reach an agreement that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in the round,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

“Qatar will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war.”

There was no official response from Hamas or Israel.

The latest round of talks in mid-October failed to produce a deal, with Hamas rejecting a short-term ceasefire proposal. Israel has previously rejected some proposals for longer truces. Disagreements have centred on the long-term future of Hamas and Israel’s presence in Gaza.