The reports came out just days after rumors said Qatar would disband the Hamas political office in Doha, which was refuted by the Gulf state’s foreign ministry.

Israeli media has reported that Qatar had asked Israel not to target any Hamas officials within its borders, following the assassinations of senior Hamas figures in Iran and Lebanon earlier this year.

Kan11 News cited unnamed sources who said the appeal to Israel was communicated through “axes through which relations between the countries have recently been established”.

One request was allegedly made by Qatar following Israel’s assassination of the Hamas political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran last July.

In January, the deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed by Israel in Beirut.

Doha News reached out to Qatar’s Government Communications Office but received no reply at the time of publication.

During a press conference on Saturday, the Gulf state’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari denied reports claiming Doha had withdrawn from official mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas.

Al-Ansari clarified that Qatar was still committed to efforts but had stalled the talks until both sides showed a willingness to negotiate.

A Reuters reports deemed inaccurate by Qatar detailed that the Gulf state would be closing the Hamas political bureau in Doha, following orders from United States President Joe Biden’s administration.

Another diplomatic source told AFP that Qatar’s Hamas office “no longer serves its purpose” and was to be closed by orders from senior US officials.

Senior Hamas officials had dismissed the claims in statements to both news agencies.

In 2012, Qatar had agreed to establish the Hamas office based on Washington’s request.

In a statement to Qatar’s state press agency, Al-Ansari said Doha had notified Israel and Hamas 10 days ago during the latest attempts to reach a deal that it would halt its efforts should a stalemate occur.

The MoFA spokesperson was referring to the latest round of talks that took place in Doha in late October, which concluded with no tangible results.

Israel’s history of foreign assassinations

Israel has a long-standing history of carrying out assassinations on foreign land, where it has no formal jurisdiction, as well as within Occupied Palestine.

Israeli occupation forces, as well as its Mossad intelligence agency, have carried out several assassinations this year alone during Israel’s genocidal campaign on Gaza.

Chief among them are the killings of Haniyeh in Tehran, Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, and deputy chief of Hamas political bureau Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut. Iran’s Quds Force Commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi was also killed in Damascus.

Throughout its history, Israel has also carried out both failed and successful assassination attempts of Palestinian activists and political leaders across the world including Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Brazil, France, Germany, Uruguay, Norway, Belgium and Malta.

One of the most high-profile failed assassination attempts was on senior Hamas official Khaled Meshal on Jordanian soil in 1997.

Acting under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two Mossad agents disguised as Canadian tourists had injected Meshal with a lethal poison but were apprehended.

In exchange for their release and six others held at the Israeli embassy, an Israeli physician was sent to Amman to deliver an antidote for Meshal.