CNN: Qatar agrees to expel Hamas at US request

Qatar has agreed in recent weeks to expel Hamas from its territory at the request of the United States, capping months of failed attempts to persuade the militant group, whose top leaders are based in the Qatari capital, Doha, to accept a ceasefire and release hostages it’s holding in Gaza, US and Qatari sources told CNN.

With efforts to end the war between Israel and Hamas, which was a top priority for US President Joe Biden, faltering, US officials informed their Qatari counterparts about two weeks ago that they must stop granting Hamas refuge in their capital.

For its part, Qatar agreed and notified Hamas about a week ago.

“Hamas is a terrorist group that has killed Americans and continues to hold American hostages,” a senior US administration official told CNN.

“After repeatedly rejecting proposals to release the hostages, its leaders are no longer welcome in the capitals of any US partner”.

Over the course of the war and negotiations to return the hostages to America, American officials asked Qatar to use the threat of expulsion as leverage in their talks with Hamas.

Qatar’s final impetus for agreeing to expel Hamas came recently after the death of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin and Hamas’s rejection of a ceasefire proposal once again.

Qatar has been a key player in efforts over the past year to try to secure a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, in part because senior members of the movement are based in Doha, and major negotiations have taken place in the Qatari capital for this reason.

It’s unclear exactly when Hamas members will be expelled from Qatar and where they will go.

A US official told CNN that the movement was not given a long period of time to leave the country.

While Türkiye is seen as a possible option, the United States is unlikely to agree to this scenario for the same reasons it does not want Qatar to provide refuge to the Hamas leadership.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice indicted several senior Hamas leaders over the October 7 attack on Israel.

At least one of these defendants, Khaled Meshaal, is believed to be based in Qatar.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also asked Qatar over the summer to warn Hamas that it risked expulsion from Doha if the movement didn’t agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.