Qatar withdraws as key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks after 13 months of war: Source tells AFP

CAIRO – 9 November 2024: A diplomatic source has revealed to AFP that Qatar has stepped back as a crucial mediator in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations with the Israeli war continuing for the second year despite relentless negotiation talks to halt the hostilities.

Doha informed both Hamas and Israel that the Arab country cannot continue to mediate amid the lack of "good faith" in the ongoing discussions.

Consequently, the political office of Hamas in Qatar is now deemed ineffective in achieving its objectives, the source added.

Doha already notified both Hamas and the Israeli side of the decision and affirmed to the US administration Qatar’s readiness to return to its mediation role when “both sides… demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table.”

EXPELLING HAMAS

The news comes after the US reportedly urged Qatar to eliminate the political presence of Hamas in Doha as “no longer acceptable” after the Palestinian movement had rejected a short-term ceasefire proposal introduced in mid-October.

“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, [Hamas] leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” a senior US administration official told Reuters on Friday.

“We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas's rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the senior official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The source added that Washington has been urging Qatar over the past weeks to close Hamas’s political office right away.

A diplomatic source has revealed to AFP that Qatar has stepped back as a crucial mediator in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations with the Israeli war continuing for the second year despite relentless negotiation talks to halt the hostilities.#BREAKING https://t.co/2wE1Y8bORq

— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) November 9, 2024

MEDIATION FUTURE UNCLEAR

Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States have been acting as key mediators between Hamas and Israel since the war erupted in Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 43,500 people and wounding over 102,700 others, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Thanks to efforts by the mediators, Hamas and Israel agreed to a prisoner swap deal in November last year, leading to the release of around 100 Israeli captives in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners.

However, Israeli attacks in recent months have resulted in the reported deaths of many of the around 100 captives still held in Gaza, as reported by Hamas.

Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu is adhering to the war objective of returning the captives safely, while Hamas has repeatedly emphasized that it will only release the captives under a permanent ceasefire deal.

On 1 September, the Israeli army asserted that they have recovered the bodies of six captives from tunnels under the enclave, including 23-year-old Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American captive.

With the Qatari withdrawal from mediation, the future of talks aimed at releasing captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and ending the war in Gaza seems to be harder to predict.