The US has told Qatar that the presence of Hamas in Doha is no longer acceptable in the weeks since the Palestinian group rejected the latest proposal to achieve a ceasefire and a hostage deal, a senior administration official tells Reuters.

“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the senior official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Qatar then made the demand to Hamas leaders about 10 days ago, the official said. Washington has been in touch with Qatar over when to close the group’s political office, and it told Doha that now was the time.

Three Hamas officials denied Qatar had told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome in the country. The spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear if the Qataris provided a specific deadline to the Hamas leaders to leave the country.

Hamas at the time viewed Israel as having moved the goal post for a deal “last-minute,” and worried any concessions it made would be met by more demands, a source close to the talks told Reuters in August.