Qatar, which is home to a major US military base, has hosted Hamas’ political leadership since 2012 with Washington’s blessing.
During the talks after Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel last year, both Qatari and US officials indicated that the militant group would remain in Doha as long as its presence offered a viable channel of communication.
Qatar said in April that it was reassessing its role as a mediator in the conflict as it was facing criticism, notably from Israeli and US politicians.
At that time, the Qataris gave a similar message over the status of the Hamas office, prompting Hamas officials to leave for Turkey, the diplomatic source said.
But they returned after two weeks at the request of the US and Israel, as negotiations were “ineffective” while they were in Turkey, the source said.
Apart from a one-week pause in the fighting late last year, during which scores of Hamas-held hostages were released, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to halt the war.
To break the deadlock near the end of US President Joe Biden’s term and in the run-up to this week’s US elections, Washington and Doha last month announced fresh in-person talks to explore new options.
But the latest initiative produced no breakthrough.
The diplomatic source said Qatar had “concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side, with the mediation efforts becoming more about politics and elections rather than a serious attempt to secure peace”.
Qatar “advised the US administration and both parties that it would not accept being subjected to political exploitation aimed at gaining political leverage at Qatar’s expense while misleading public perception”, the source added.
