Israel urged Qatar to continue Gaza funding despite public criticism, documents reveal

Previously unpublished documents revealed on Sunday show Israel's direct involvement in transferring Qatari funds to the Gaza Strip, including requests to maintain the arrangement even as senior Israeli officials publicly criticized Doha.

According to an investigation by TIME magazine, based on official correspondence and testimony from senior Israeli, American, and Arab officials, successive Israeli governments helped establish, operate, and preserve the Qatari assistance mechanism for Hamas-controlled Gaza for years.

Among the documents uncovered in the investigation is a 2020 letter sent by then-Mossad director Yossi Cohen to Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Cohen expressed Israel's gratitude for Qatar's humanitarian assistance to Gaza, writing that the aid had played a crucial role in improving humanitarian conditions in the Strip and ensuring regional stability and security.

Another letter from the same year, sent by a National Security Council official identified in the investigation as "R.L. Maoz," explicitly requested that the payments continue. The official emphasized the importance of maintaining Qatari humanitarian financial assistance through the existing mechanism and asked that the money be transferred through Ambassador Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, rather than through intermediaries or other countries.

According to TIME, the requests reflect a contradiction that angered Qatari officials: While senior Israeli figures publicly condemned Doha for financing Hamas, they privately urged Qatar to continue transferring funds. A senior official from the first Trump administration described the arrangement to the magazine, which reported that Qatar demanded written documentation of Israel's involvement in 2018.

Israel helped establish Qatari aid mechanism for Gaza

Qatar began transferring funds to Gaza following Hamas's takeover of the territory in 2007. According to the investigation, by 2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had approved a mechanism giving Israel a direct role in facilitating assistance, including food and medical supplies, determining which families qualified for financial aid, distributing payments, and allowing Qatari funding to expand electricity supplies.

The cooperation was subsequently formalized through a mechanism involving Israel, Qatar, and the United Nations. On October 2, 2018, the parties signed an agreement to finance fuel shipments to Gaza.

In August 2021, Qatar committed $40 million to a program intended to provide nearly 100,000 Palestinian households with $100 per month for four months. The arrangements were subsequently extended.

According to diplomats familiar with the mechanism, Israel vetted eligible recipients and supervised the distribution of funds. Payments were transferred through the World Food Programme, with families receiving text messages before collecting assistance at designated distribution points.

A July 2019 letter disclosed in the investigation shows that Qatar notified Netanyahu's government of a $6 million transfer to 20,000 beneficiaries selected by Israel, with each receiving $300. TIME noted that it remains unclear how many recipients were affiliated with Hamas or had relatives belonging to the organization.

Qatar says Israel bears responsibility for any funds reaching Hamas

Responding to the investigation, Qatar placed responsibility on Israel for any possible diversion of funds to Hamas.

"All Qatari financial assistance in Gaza was directed to Palestinian civilians through mechanisms coordinated with Israeli authorities and international partners," a spokesperson for Qatar's International Media Office said.

"If any funding reached Hamas, as claimed by individuals and groups with political agendas against Qatar, the responsibility lies with Israel, which supervised the transfers and established the mechanism," the spokesperson added.

The investigation also includes testimony indicating that Qatari officials sought to change the aid distribution system in 2023 to reduce civilians' dependence on both Hamas and the Israeli government. According to several sources, including a senior Israeli official and an international diplomat, Netanyahu's government sought to preserve the existing framework.

Mossad chief requested Qatari funding extension two weeks before October 7

Approximately two weeks before Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, Mossad director David Barnea traveled to Doha and requested the renewal of Qatari funding, as previously reported by The New York Times. According to additional details published by TIME, Qatari officials agreed but warned that it would be the final extension.

Barnea requested another two months of assistance. Officials familiar with the conversation said the reasoning was that continued financial assistance gave Hamas something to lose, providing Israel with leverage over the terrorist organization.

The arrangement also continued under former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who had been one of its fiercest critics while serving as a minister in Netanyahu's government. After becoming prime minister, Bennett ended the practice of allowing suitcases of cash into Gaza but continued the broader Qatari assistance program.

According to a former senior Biden administration official, Qatar was preparing to terminate the program at the time. An official present during a conversation between an Israeli representative and a US envoy said Israel's message was: "We want to continue this as it is."

Netanyahu rejects claims Qatari funding helped preserve Hamas rule

Netanyahu's critics argue that the policy helped maintain Hamas's rule in Gaza and preserve the political division between the terrorist organization and the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu has previously rejected the accusation. In a 2024 interview with TIME, he said the assistance was intended to ensure a functioning civilian administration in Gaza and prevent a humanitarian collapse, including the deterioration of sewage, water, and education systems.

The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the latest investigation.

The documents do not prove that Qatari assistance directly financed the October 7 attack. However, they provide additional evidence of a policy based on the assumption that civilian financial assistance would help maintain stability and restrain Hamas.

"It was a policy failure on our part, born out of good intentions and continued by several prime ministers," a former senior Israeli defense official told TIME.

"But Netanyahu was undoubtedly at the center of it. He was the one who promoted and accelerated the program, and his government was responsible for how it was managed."