Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended Israel’s role in facilitating millions of dollars in Qatari funds to Gaza, saying the money was intended for humanitarian aid and transferred on the recommendation of Mossad and Shin Bet. In an i24NEWS interview shared on social media on Saturday, he also boasted that he had ordered attacks on Qatar, which he called a hostile state.
Netanyahu’s comments came days before the one-year anniversary of Israel’s September 9, 2025, strike on Doha, which triggered condemnation from Qatar, regional governments and the United Nations.
What Netanyahu said about the Doha bombing
Netanyahu said Qatar did not dictate Israeli policy during the war on Gaza. “I attacked Qatar, I also bombed it and attacked them during the war, and they attacked me,” he said in the interview.
The September 2025 strike targeted a Hamas meeting in Doha that was discussing a United States-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, called the attack a “cowardly” assault and a violation of international law and norms. For additional context, see “Israel’s defence minister says Trump support is sought for Gaza plan”.
Key figures
- The Doha strike killed five Hamas members and one Qatari security officer.
- Netanyahu said the Qatari funds represented 2 percent of all money that entered Gaza.
- Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012.
Qatar’s response and the diplomatic fallout
Qatar has long acted as a mediator in Middle East conflicts and says Hamas’s political office was established in Doha in 2012 after requests from the United States. Doha also said that claims it finances Hamas have no basis and that its aid transfers were subject to transparent oversight known to the United States.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strike a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Iran and Pakistan also condemned it, while leaders from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia visited Qatar shortly afterward. Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump later called Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister to apologise.
Dispute over the Gaza transfers
Netanyahu’s defence responds to allegations from some of his detractors that Qatari funds helped Hamas prepare its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He said the transfers had been recommended by Israel’s security agencies and were intended for humanitarian purposes. A related part of this story is covered in “Freedom Flotilla vessels prepare for October Gaza voyage”.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has rejected the allegations, saying the aid went to people in Gaza through a process that Qatar described as transparent and overseen with US awareness.
Political pressure before Israel’s election
The interview was published weeks before Israelis are due to vote on October 27 in the country’s first general election since the war on Gaza began in 2023. Netanyahu faces domestic pressure over his government’s handling of the Gaza war, the economy and the war with Iran.
Analysts and critics cited in the report say Netanyahu has repeatedly heightened tensions with other states before elections in an effort to rally nationalist support. The development of this issue can be followed in “Israeli targeting practice examined after WCK convoy strike”.
What happens next
The October 27 general election is expected to put the Gaza war, the economy and the war with Iran among the central issues of the campaign.
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