Qatar demands Israel not to attack Hamas leaders on its territory

The Qatari government has demanded that Israel commit to not carrying out attacks on members of the leadership of the radical Palestinian Hamas movement on Qatari soil.

"Commit to not attacking high-ranking members of Hamas on our land," the Qatari authorities said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Earlier, the British newspaper Financial Times, citing sources, claimed that Qatar, under pressure from the United States, asked Hamas leaders to leave the country, as the movement had repeatedly rejected mediators' proposals for the release of Israeli hostages as part of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

On November 9 evening, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed al-Ansari denied reports about the closure of Hamas' political bureau office in Doha, emphasizing that the main purpose of its presence in the country was to maintain a "communication channel between the parties involved."

Hamas' political office has been operating in Doha since 2012, when the movement's leadership was forced to leave its headquarters in Damascus due to the civil war in Syria. Qatar provided political asylum to Hamas leaders, becoming a platform for the movement's representation abroad.

By Khagan Isayev