Johanna Moore, Siddhant Kishore, Annika Ganzeveld, Ben Rezaei,

Avery Borens, Adiv Kuray, and Nicholas Carl

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Qatar instructed Hamas’ political leadership to relocate from Doha, according to US officials and Israeli media. The Qatar-based members of the Hamas Political Bureau would in this case need to find a new base of operations, which could be Iraq. The United States reportedly pressured Qatar to expel Hamas’ political leadership after the group rejected the latest ceasefire-hostage agreement proposed by international mediators. Emirati media reported in June 2024 that Hamas was considering moving its headquarters to Iraq. Hamas later established its first political office in Baghdad at some point in Summer 2024.

Hamas political leadership moving to Iraq would be consistent with the growing importance of Iraq in Iranian strategy in the Middle East, as the IDF has degraded Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah. Members of Iran’s Axis of Resistance have increasingly used Iraq as a center for coordination and cooperation in recent months. Iran and the Axis of Resistance, as they reevaluate their regional approach, could place greater emphasis on building their strength in Iraq and Syria to compensate for the losses in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Iran’s proximity to and over two decades of developing proxy and partner militias in Iraq make it an appealing non-Iranian base of operations for the Axis of Resistance.

A journalist embedded with the IDF traveled into Jabalia on November 5. That a journalist entered the area safely reflects both the heavy concentration of the IDF in the area and the extent to which Hamas has been severely degraded there. The IDF has deployed three brigades to Jabalia in recent weeks, highlighting the heavy securitization of the area. These units include the 900th Infantry Brigade, which is the largest IDF brigade with five battalions. The journalist entered Jabalia in a Humvee that would be vulnerable to attacks relative to a more heavily armored vehicle.

Key Takeaways:

• Qatar instructed Hamas’ political leadership to relocate from Doha, according to US officials and Israeli media. The Qatar-based members of the Hamas Political Bureau would in this case need to find a new base of operations, which could be Iraq.

• A journalist embedded with the IDF traveled into Jabalia on November 5. That a journalist entered the area safely reflects both the heavy concentration of the IDF in the area and the extent to which Hamas has been severely degraded there.

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ISW–CTP has launched an interactive map of Israeli ground operations to accompany our daily campaign assessments of the Israel–Hamas war. This product complements the daily static maps that ISW-CTP produces with high-fidelity and, where possible, street-level assessments of the war in Israel.

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