According to multiple sources within Israel, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, along with seven other Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated leaders, has been expelled from his refuge in Qatar and will relocate to Turkey, a move made to improve relations between Qatar and Egypt. This report has been denied by Hamas.

The expulsion was originally reported by CNN, which said it got the news from a Hamas-affiliated source. The Associated Press reported the conflicting statements:

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it "welcomes Qatar's decision to expel the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, to Turkey." It said the Qatari decision came after heavy diplomatic pressure from Israel.

"We expect the Turkish government to act responsibly in a similar way," it added.

Hamas officials in both Qatar and Gaza angrily dismissed the Israeli claims.

Izzat Rishq, a top aide to Mashaal, said the claim was wrong. "There is no basis of truth about brother Khaled Mashaal leaving Doha. We are in Doha now," he told The Associated Press.

Hamas spokesman Hossam Badran in Qatar and Salah Bardawil, a Hamas official in Gaza, also told the AP the report was false.

In Turkey, the Foreign Ministry said it had no information on a Qatari decision or plans by Mashaal to relocate to Turkey.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also took credit for the Qatar move, saying the ministry, led by Avigdor​ Liberman, "last year advanced various direct and indirect processes to bring Qatar to take that step and to get it to cease supporting Hamas. Liberman and ministry professionals worked toward that goal in overt and covert channels vis-à-vis Qatar itself and other countries."

Liberman's claim may be more bravado than truth. In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has been trying to mediate better relations between Qatar, which provides sanctuary and money to Hamas and other Muslim Brotherhood-associated groups, and Egypt, which considers the Brotherhood a mortal enemy. Qatar has been looking for ways to get its Al Jazeera reporters out of Egyptian prison and many of the Gulf states have been looking to show a united front against threats from Iran and ISIS.

On New Year's Day, Egypt's top court ordered a new trial for the Al Jazeera reporters. It is widely believed that even if they are convicted they will be freed. This was seen as the first move toward thawing of relations between Egypt and Qatar.