Qatar has denied allegations of directly transferring funds to Hamas prior to October 7, 2023, attributing any such occurrence to Israeli oversight. The Qatari International Media Office issued a statement on Monday responding to a recent report that examined Qatar’s financial assistance to the Gaza Strip in the months leading up to the conflict.
According to Qatar, all aid provided was intended for Palestinian civilians and was coordinated with Israeli authorities and international partners. The statement emphasized that, under existing aid mechanisms, financial assistance and goods—including food, medicine, and fuel—were routed through Israel at every stage before reaching Gaza. This process, Qatar contended, ensured Israeli involvement and supervision of aid deliveries.
The report cited by Qatar indicated that the Gulf state transferred roughly $30 million monthly to Gaza. These funds were reportedly earmarked for paying government employees’ salaries and supporting infrastructure projects in the enclave. Qatar asserted that if any portion of this assistance inadvertently reached Hamas, responsibility rested with Israel, which managed the oversight of aid distribution across different government administrations, including those led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Lapid. The Qatari statement specifically referenced Israeli intelligence agencies Mossad and Shin Bet as part of this oversight.
Qatar also criticized the report for focusing heavily on the so-called Qatargate affair, a scandal involving suspicions that close associates of Prime Minister Netanyahu allegedly represented Qatari interests while working within the Prime Minister’s Office. The Qatari statement described the article as an attempt to damage Qatar’s reputation, calling it more akin to an “amateur blog” than a credible journalistic investigation. It further accused certain elements within Israel’s far-right and other actors of manufacturing and circulating fabricated documents as part of a campaign against Qatar, arguing that these efforts undermine prospects for peace.
While Qatar denied direct payments to Hamas, it did not dispute reported connections to Netanyahu’s associates implicated in the Qatargate scandal. The affair centers on Yonatan Urich, Israel Einhorn, and Eli Feldstein, who are suspected of working for Qatar while employed in Israeli government positions. Investigations suggest these individuals aimed to shift blame away from Qatar for financing Hamas and to promote the country as a key mediator in hostage negotiations. Part of their alleged strategy included spreading pro-Qatar and anti-Egypt messaging within Israeli media, attributing the messages to security and political officials.
The reported aid initiative reportedly began after an assassination attempt on former Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during a Gaza visit in 2018. Following the incident, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas significantly reduced financial transfers to Gaza, worsening the enclave’s economic conditions. The report claims that Netanyahu subsequently requested Qatar to step up regular financial support to stabilize the situation, despite concerns from Israeli security officials that some funds might have reached Hamas’ military wing. Netanyahu reportedly did not halt the transfers despite expressing awareness of the risks.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani condemned Israeli actions in Gaza as a “genocide in every sense of the word” and described them as a stain on the global conscience. The Emir highlighted Qatar’s role in mediating a cease-fire in Gaza and warned that Israeli aggression, characterized by “arrogance and hubris,” had begun to affect neighboring countries.