Hamas leaders who had lived in luxurious exile in Qatar have left for unknown destinations as of Tuesday and have switched off their phones, according to the Israeli Kan channel’s Arabic news service, Makan.
According to Makan (via Google translate), a “number” of Hamas leaders have left Qatar “for an unknown destination,” though they are presumed to be going to Lebanon, Iran, or Algeria.
The Jerusalem Post added: “Additionally, on Tuesday, KAN news reported that Saleh al-Arouri, a senior member of Hamas, left his usual residence in Beirut for Turkey.”
Other countries that have given refuge to Hamas in the past include Syria, though that is probably too close to the range of current Israeli airstrikes, which have reached targets near Damascus in the current conflict.
In October, as Breitbart News reported, Israel created a special unit to track down and kill every Hamas member involved in the planning and execution of the October 7 terror attack in Israel, in which 1,200 people were murdered.
Israel was thought to be holding back on plans to pursue Hamas leaders during hostage negotiations in the Qatari capital city of Doha, which ended after Hamas broke a week-long truce on November 30.
The departure of Hamas leaders from Qatar could mean that the emirate will no longer protect them, perhaps under pressure from Israel or the U.S.
Alternatively, it could mean that hostage negotiations will not resume — perhaps because Israel is attempting to rescue hostages directly, or because Hamas has already murdered those in its custody.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
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