Netanyahu pressed Qatar to continue funding Gaza despite security warnings, report finds

An Israeli Channel 12 News investigation has revealed that the Israeli government sought to ensure that Qatar continued transferring funds to the occupied Gaza Strip before 7 October 2023, despite warnings from security officials that the money was strengthening Hamas.

The report details how Qatar became instrumental to Israel's policies in the besieged enclave over the past 15 years.

The policy, spearheaded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu between 2011 and 2023, involved Qatari officials transferring tens of millions of US dollars in cash to the Gaza Strip in an effort to maintain stable relations between Israel and Hamas.

The investigation describes a process in which Israeli government and security officials asked Qatar to transfer the funds, while senior military officers reportedly received expensive gifts from Doha.