Qatar agreed to expel Hamas from the country following a request from the Biden administration, but repeated attempts to force the terrorist group to release the remaining hostages the militants abducted from Israel on October 7, 2023 have failed. did.
The move came after Hamas repeatedly rejected offers to release the hostages.
A U.S. official told Fox News that while Qatar is “invaluable” in negotiations to free the approximately 200 hostages, a Hamas presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Fire Minister Yoav Gallant
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on October 24, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas rejected a proposal to release even a “small number of hostages” at a recent meeting in Cairo.
Shinwar was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October.
In August, Hamas terrorists killed six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg Pollin, as the IDF approached a rescue operation in a tunnel deep underground in Rafah, Gaza.
Negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas have stalled, and Israeli officials say releasing the hostages is their top priority.
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The Department of Justice has indicted several Hamas officials for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Fox News Digital reached out to the Qatari embassy in Washington, DC.
In addition to its presence in Turkey, Arab media reported in June that Hamas was considering moving its headquarters to Iraq. The group already has a political office in Baghdad.
