Senior Hamas leaders have moved from Qatar to Turkey, Israeli public broadcaster Kan News reported Sunday evening.
The report cites unnamed Israeli sources confirming the move, which reportedly took place in recent days.
According to the channel, this development could have “dramatic” consequences on the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, conducted under the mediation of the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
However, a Turkish diplomatic source denied this report, telling Reuters: Members of the Hamas Politburo visit Turkey from time to time. Claims that the Hamas Politburo has moved to Türkiye do not reflect the truth.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry claimed that media reports that the Gulf state had withdrawn from its mediation role and closed the terrorist group's offices in Doha were inaccurate.
Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari said: The State of Qatar informed the parties 10 days ago, during the latest attempts to reach an agreement, that it would suspend its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel if an agreement is not reached in this area. round.
Qatar would resume its efforts when the parties demonstrate their will and seriousness to end this brutal war,” he said.
A senior US official told Reuters ten days ago that Hamas leaders “should no longer be welcome in the capitals of US partners”, after the terrorist organization rejected repeated offers to release the hostages.
“We made this clear to Qatar following Hamas's rejection a few weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the official said, according to the news agency.
The Turkish government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, has long harbored Hamas. In 2022, the terrorist group celebrated the 10th anniversary of officially establishing its offices in Istanbul.
According to a 2021 report from the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Hamas headquarters in Istanbul has directed hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israelis and laundered millions of dollars.
“Turkey collaborates with terrorist organizations both ideologically and operationally. Terrorists working on Turkish soil establish infrastructure and plan terrorist attacks against Israel,” the report states.
In April, Ankara invited Ismail Haniyeh, then head of Hamas' political office in Doha, to stay in the country, calling him a “leader of the Palestinian struggle.”
Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in July.
Erdoan has become more hostile to Israel and closer to Hamas since the terrorist group's attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.
In May, Erdoan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire who feeds on blood,” calling on Muslims to fight the Jewish state.
Two months later, Erdoan declared News week that Palestinian terrorists in Gaza were “simply defending their homes, their streets and their homeland.”
NATO member Turkey has also blocked any partnership or progression of Israeli involvement in the global military alliance, Reuters reported in August, citing unnamed sources.
