Qatar has suspended mediation efforts on Gaza, Foreign Ministry says

Qatar says it has suspended its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel until the parties show “their willingness and seriousness” to end the war in Gaza.

In a statement on X on Saturday, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Qatar had informed the relevant parties 10 days ago of its intentions.

Earlier on Saturday, The Associated Press reported a diplomatic source as saying that Hamas’s political office in Qatar “no longer serves its purpose”.

However, al-Ansari said that reports regarding the Hamas political office in Doha were inaccurate, “stating that the main goal of the office in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the concerned parties”.

A senior Hamas official said they were aware of Qatar’s decision to suspend mediation efforts, “but no one told us to leave”.