Leaked documents obtained in Gaza and aired by Israel’s Channel 12 reportedly expose years of covert collaboration between Qatar and Hamas, including efforts to derail regional peace deals and shift influence away from Egypt toward Qatar, Turkey, and Iran.
According to the report, top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh described Qatar’s monthly cash transfers as Hamas’s “main artery,” with discreet financial support continuing even after past escalations. One 2019 communication notes $11 million raised by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for Hamas’s leadership, while a 2021 message instructed that a military victory be dedicated to the emir.
The documents also detail secret Qatari support for Hamas military training, including sessions in Qatar and Turkey, and suggest Qatar’s intelligence worked with Hamas to integrate fighters from Lebanon and Syria.
The revelations contradict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent portrayal of Qatar as “complicated but not an enemy,” and cast new scrutiny on Israel’s prior approval of Qatari cash into Gaza.
Further files reportedly show Hamas planning to counter the U.S.-backed “Deal of the Century” and block normalization between Israel and Arab states. Hamas, the documents say, saw Qatari and Turkish diplomacy as key tools to disrupt peace initiatives and “make it hard for the occupation to breathe.”
Hamas also viewed Egypt’s influence as expendable, maneuvering to replace Cairo with Doha as the main regional mediator.
Both Haniyeh and Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, architects of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have since been killed in Israeli operations.
The leaked records emerge amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, as public and legal scrutiny grows over Qatar’s dual role as a Hamas benefactor and mediator. A corruption probe is also investigating alleged pro-Qatari influence within Netanyahu’s inner circle.
