Hamas moving teams from Qatar to Turkey amid spat with Doha – report

Doha has reportedly restricted Hamas’ leadership after Khalil al-Hayya defeated Qatar’s preferred candidate.

By World Israel News Staff

Hamas has begun preparing to relocate most of its covert organizational activity from Qatar to Turkey while keeping its public-facing political leadership in Doha, according to a report Wednesday by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.

Palestinian sources cited by Kan said the planned transfer includes Hamas’s clandestine planning bodies and cyber departments. The sources described the move as a broad relocation of the terrorist group’s less visible operations rather than a complete departure from Qatar.

The report said Qatari authorities recently tightened restrictions on Hamas officials, requiring them to obtain advance approval before holding official meetings in Doha. Qatar has hosted much of Hamas’s external political leadership while also serving as a mediator in negotiations involving Israel, Hamas and the US.

According to the Palestinian sources, the restrictions followed Qatar’s dissatisfaction with Hamas’s decision to name Khalil al-Hayya as its overall leader on July 20. Doha reportedly favored former Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal, while al-Hayya is regarded as having closer relations with Iran.

The sources characterized Qatar’s measures as punishment for Hamas choosing the more Iran-aligned candidate over Mashaal, who was considered closer to Doha and to the Muslim Brotherhood-oriented wing of the movement. Neither the Kan report nor the accounts carrying it included a public response from Qatar, Turkey or Hamas to the latest claims.

The reported transfer would accelerate a shift that appeared to be underway even before al-Hayya’s appointment. Asharq Al-Awsat reported in July that Hamas had moved much of its organizational “center of gravity” toward Turkey, resumed holding internal meetings there and used Istanbul for leadership elections earlier this year. Three Hamas sources told the newspaper that many senior officials had been spending extended periods in Turkey even when their families remained in Qatar.

Those sources offered a different explanation for the movement away from Doha, denying that relations with Qatar had deteriorated. One senior Hamas source said, “This does not amount to a dispute with Qatar; rather, it came to ease the burden on Qatar,” referring to US pressure to expel Hamas officials.

Another factor cited in the July report was security. Hamas leaders increasingly viewed Turkey as safer after Israel’s September 2025 airstrike against the group’s senior leadership in Doha, according to the newspaper. The strike killed several Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, although the senior officials targeted in the operation survived.

Al-Hayya, who is based in Qatar, emerged as Hamas’s most prominent external figure after the deaths of Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. He served as the group’s chief negotiator and maintained close relations with Iran before defeating Mashaal in the internal leadership contest.

His selection was widely interpreted as strengthening Hamas’s harder-line faction. Palestinian political analyst Reham Owda told Reuters that the outcome indicated negotiations over disarmament were “likely to face significant difficulties and obstacles.”

Turkey quickly embraced the new Hamas leader. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met al-Hayya and a Hamas delegation on July 29, congratulating him on his appointment and discussing Gaza, the West Bank and Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

During the meeting, al-Hayya said Hamas continued to take a “constructive approach to peace negotiations.” Fidan reiterated Ankara’s support for what he called the Palestinians’ “just cause” and praised Hamas’s role in the diplomatic process.

The meeting was al-Hayya’s first major diplomatic engagement after becoming Hamas leader and underscored Turkey’s expanding role as both a political host and a mediator. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin had previously met al-Hayya’s negotiating delegation in Istanbul to discuss implementing later stages of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Turkey does not treat Hamas as a terrorist organization and has maintained regular contact with its political officials. Turkish leaders present those contacts as part of Ankara’s support for the Palestinians and its efforts to mediate, while Israel has accused Hamas members operating from Turkey of directing recruitment, financing and attacks in the West Bank.

Under the arrangement described by Kan, Qatar would continue hosting senior leaders and activities connected to diplomacy and public representation, while Turkey would become the principal base for planning, cyber work and other covert functions.

Such a division would allow Hamas to preserve Qatar’s role as a diplomatic channel while moving sensitive operations to a country where the group has developed stronger organizational infrastructure. That interpretation remains an inference from the reported division of responsibilities, and the scale and timetable of any transfer have not been independently confirmed.

The development comes as both Qatar and Turkey participate in international efforts to implement a US-backed roadmap calling for Hamas’s disarmament and the transfer of governing authority in Gaza to a technocratic Palestinian administration. Al-Hayya’s rise and the reported relocation of clandestine departments could intensify Israeli concerns over whether Hamas intends to surrender its military and operational capabilities or preserve them outside Gaza.