Netanyahu boasts about bombing Qatar and defends Gaza funds as aid

Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted about Israel’s bombing of Qatar while defending the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza, saying the funds were meant for humanitarian aid rather than military activity.

In an interview with i24NEWS that he shared on social media, Netanyahu described Qatar as a “hostile” state and said it had not dictated Israeli policy during the war in Gaza. “I attacked Qatar, I also bombed it and attacked them during the war, and they attacked me,” he said.

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I attacked Qatar, I also bombed it and attacked them during the war, and they attacked me.

The interview came days before the anniversary of Israel’s September 9, 2025, strike on Doha. The attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer during a meeting about a United States-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal. Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012 and has long acted as a mediator, condemned the bombing as a “blatant violation of all international laws and norms.”

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari called the attack “cowardly.” Iran and Pakistan also condemned it, while the leaders of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia visited Qatar in a show of solidarity. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the strikes as a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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All this money is worth 2 percent, 2 percent of all the money that entered the Strip.

Later that month, Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump called Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister at the White House to apologize for the strike. In the interview, Netanyahu also defended the millions of dollars in Qatari funds Israel had facilitated into Gaza. “All this money is worth 2 percent, 2 percent of all the money that entered the Strip,” he said, adding that Mossad and Shin Bet had recommended the transfers for humanitarian purposes.

Netanyahu’s critics have alleged that the funds helped Hamas prepare its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Qatar denies the allegation and says strict oversight governs its aid transfers. “Today, when they [Israel] are claiming that this is the financing of Qatar to Hamas, it has no basis,” Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said at last year’s Doha Forum.

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Today, when they [Israel] are claiming that this is the financing of Qatar to Hamas, it has no basis.