After Hamas rejected hostage deal, US asked Qatar to expel the group

(Patria) - The United States told Qatar that Hamas's presence in Doha is no longer acceptable after the Palestinian militant group rejected the latest proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

The small Gulf state of Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, has played a major role in rounds of so-far unsuccessful negotiations for a ceasefire in the year-long war in Gaza. The last round of talks in mid-October failed, and Hamas rejected a short-term ceasefire proposal.

"After they rejected repeated proposals for the release of hostages, their leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar after Hamas rejected another proposal for the release of hostages several weeks ago," the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Qatar then conveyed the request to Hamas leaders about ten days ago, the official said. Washington has been in contact with Qatar about when to close the group's political office and told Doha that now is the right time.

Three Hamas officials denied that Qatar told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome. A spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether Qatar has given Hamas leaders a deadline to leave the country.

The administration of President Joe Biden was preparing to make a final push to end Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. The election of Republican Donald Trump as the next US president has significantly diminished Biden's power during his final weeks in office.

In previous rounds of ceasefire talks, disagreements over new demands introduced by Israel regarding future military presence in Gaza hindered an agreement, even after Hamas accepted a version of the ceasefire proposal Biden presented in May. Hamas then believed Israel had moved the goalposts for a deal "at the last minute" and feared that any concessions it made would be met with additional demands, a source close to the talks told Reuters in August.

Last November, a negotiation track in Doha led to a seven-day truce in Gaza, which allowed for the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Humanitarian aid reached the devastated Gaza Strip, but hostilities quickly resumed and have continued since.

Future of Hamas in Qatar

Qatar, an influential Gulf state designated by Washington as a major non-NATO ally, has hosted Hamas's political leaders since 2012 as part of an agreement with the US. Following last year's attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 250 others, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told leaders in Qatar and elsewhere in the region that things could not continue as before with Hamas.

Qatar told Blinken it was open to reviewing Hamas's presence in the country when the time came. Doha has faced criticism from US lawmakers over its ties with the group. Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, turned the enclave into a wasteland, and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

On Friday, fourteen Republican US senators wrote a letter to the State Department asking Washington to immediately freeze the assets of Hamas officials living in Qatar, extradite several senior Hamas officials living in Qatar, and demand that Qatar "end its hospitality for the senior leadership of Hamas."

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has repeatedly said over the past year that the Hamas office exists in Doha to facilitate negotiations with the group and that as long as the channel remains useful, Qatar will allow the Hamas office to remain open.

It is unclear how many Hamas officials live in Doha, but among them are several leaders considered potential replacements for leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last month.