Report: Israel Actively Managed Qatari Funds to Gaza, Despite Hamas Concerns

Translated & summarized from Ice by baba

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A TIME magazine investigation reveals that Israel actively managed nearly $2 billion in Qatari funds transferred to Gaza, approving recipients and urging continued transfers despite security warnings about Hamas's military buildup. The policy, which continued under both Netanyahu and Bennett governments, aimed to prevent a humanitarian crisis and maintain regional quiet. Qatar stated that Israel approved all transfers, while Netanyahu denied the funds strengthened Hamas. The strategy ultimately failed, as Hamas used the period of economic stability to arm itself for the October 7th attack.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Israel actively managed nearly $2 billion in Qatari funds to Gaza, approving recipients and urging continued transfers.
Security officials warned that the funds were bolstering Hamas's military capabilities, but the policy continued.
Former and current Mossad chiefs communicated with Qatar regarding the funding arrangements.
Qatar stated Israel approved all transfers and bears responsibility for any funds reaching Hamas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu denied the funding strengthened Hamas, citing humanitarian and civilian collapse prevention.
The strategy of providing economic stability to deter Hamas from conflict failed with the October 7th attack.

Report: Israel Actively Managed Qatari Funds to Gaza, Despite Hamas Concerns — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

A new report from TIME magazine reveals the extent of Israeli involvement, under successive Netanyahu and Bennett governments, in managing and facilitating the transfer of nearly $2 billion from Qatar to the Gaza Strip. According to the investigation, Israel played a central role in designing distribution mechanisms and approving recipients, and secretly urged Qatar to continue the funding even as security officials warned that the money was bolstering Hamas's military capabilities.

The report details how Israel, starting in 2012 and more formally from 2018, managed the financial flow. Israel determined and approved lists of aid recipients and operated a tripartite system with the UN to supply fuel, electricity, and stipends to hundreds of thousands of families. Rare Israeli documents obtained by TIME include a letter from former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to the Emir of Qatar in late 2020, praising Doha's contributions to regional stability and security, despite warnings from Israeli intelligence about Hamas's armament.

In another instance, Ronen Levy explicitly requested the continuation of the mechanism through the Qatari ambassador. American officials involved noted that Qatar felt frustrated by public criticism from Israeli ministers regarding Hamas funding, while private Israeli messages encouraged the continuation of these transfers. This policy persisted under the Bennett government, which, while ending the "cash suitcases," maintained alternative funding mechanisms, with American and international backing.

Just two weeks before the October 7th attacks, Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly approached Qatar to extend the funding arrangement for two additional months as a measure to restrain Hamas. Two weeks later, Hamas launched its attack, and the arrangement collapsed. Qatar stated that all funds, medicine, and fuel were filtered and approved by the Israeli system, asserting that if money did reach Hamas, the responsibility lies with the mechanism Israel created and supervised.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that the funding was intended to strengthen Hamas, claiming its purpose was to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and civilian collapse, and that weapons were smuggled to Hamas via Iran and Sinai. The article explains that the strategy behind the funding was a security and political one aimed at achieving regional quiet, based on the assumption that economic improvement would give Hamas "something to lose," thereby deterring escalation and preventing a re-occupation of Gaza. This also served a strategic interest in separating Hamas rule in Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, thus preventing unified Palestinian statehood negotiations, and allowed Israel to focus resources on countering Iran's nuclear program and regional presence.

Qatar acted as an external leverage point, allowing Israel to regulate fund transfers based on border violence without extensive military force. However, this "arrangement" strategy, predicated on Hamas being a pragmatic ruler prioritizing civilian prosperity over conflict, completely collapsed on October 7, 2023. The Israeli concept provided Hamas with economic stability and industrial quiet, which it exploited to arm itself and execute the deadly surprise attack.