Israel Facilitated Nearly $2 Billion in Qatari Aid to Gaza, Report Reveals

According to the documents, the arrangement began in 2007 under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and expanded significantly from 2012 under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli government approved mechanisms to control the funds, which included vetting eligible Palestinian families for monthly $100 stipends, approving food and medical supplies, and overseeing fuel and electricity financing. In 2018, a trilateral agreement between Israel, Qatar, and the UN formalized the arrangement. Between 2018 and 2019, Israeli security officials even transported cash in suitcases to Gaza. The policy continued under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in 2021 with modified transfer methods, and Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea secured a final two-month extension weeks before October 7, 2023.

Israeli intelligence warned Netanyahu as early as 2019 that Qatari funds were being diverted to the military buildup of the terrorist organization Hamas, according to Ynetnews. Former Shin Bet directors Nadav Argaman and Ronen Bar opposed the policy, and Mignews reported that a secret channel covered about half of the Hamas military wing's budget. Despite these warnings, Netanyahu continued the policy, which he defended as a humanitarian effort to prevent Gaza's collapse. Critics, however, argue the policy was a failure that aimed to weaken the Palestinian Authority by strengthening Hamas. Qatar has denied its funds financed the October 7 attacks, stating that Israel supervised and approved all aid distribution.