Documents Reveal Israel Privately Urged Qatar to Continue Funding Gaza

Recently published documents by Time magazine reveal that Benjamin Netanyahu's government repeatedly asked Qatar to continue transferring funds to the Gaza Strip, despite public criticism of Qatari funding by Israeli officials. The documents include a December 2020 letter from then-Mossad Director Yossi Cohen, expressing gratitude for humanitarian aid to the enclave and its contribution to regional stability.

According to the report, Qatar began transferring funds to Gaza in 2007 under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after Hamas seized control of the Strip. Initially, Israel was not directly involved, but Israeli involvement expanded significantly over the following years, establishing formal coordination mechanisms involving the UN.

Israeli Involvement and Secret Requests

By 2012, Netanyahu's government had approved a mechanism giving Israel a direct role in overseeing Qatari aid, including food, medical supplies, and fuel financing. A former Trump administration official noted that while Israeli officials publicly condemned the payments, they privately begged Doha to keep them flowing.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maoz, a member of the National Security Council (NSC) under Netanyahu, urged Qatari officials to maintain the financial aid. Despite temporary freezes used by Netanyahu as leverage against Hamas, the aid mechanisms persisted across different administrations, including under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Continuation Under Bennett and Pre-October 7 Requests

Cooperation continued during the Bennett-Lapid government, with Qatar signing further funding agreements in August 2021. Just weeks before the October 7 massacre, then-Mossad Director David Barnea traveled to Doha to request a funding extension, aiming to maintain leverage over Hamas.