Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Qatar a “hostile” state and boasted about bombing the country, while defending Israel’s facilitation of millions of dollars in Qatari humanitarian aid to Gaza in a Saturday interview with Israel’s i24NEWS channel.
“I attacked Qatar, I also bombed it and attacked them during the war, and they attacked me,” Netanyahu said in remarks shared on social media. The comments reference Israel’s September 9, 2025, strike on Doha that killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer during a meeting on a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal.
Qatar has long served as a mediator in Middle East conflicts and hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012, a move Qatar says came at U.S. request. The country condemned the 2025 strike as a “blatant violation of all international laws and norms,” with Qatari officials calling it a “cowardly” assault. Several regional leaders, including those from Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, expressed solidarity with Qatar afterward. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty.
Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump later apologized to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani during a White House meeting in late September 2025. Netanyahu expressed regret that the strike had unintentionally hit Qatar while targeting Hamas.
Defense of Gaza Aid Transfers
In the latest interview, Netanyahu defended the transfer of millions of dollars in Qatari funds to Gaza that Israel had facilitated, saying the money was intended for humanitarian purposes and had been transferred on the recommendation of Israeli security agencies Mossad and Shin Bet. “All this money is worth 2 percent – 2 percent of all the money that entered the Strip,” Netanyahu said, dismissing domestic accusations that the funds were used for anything other than aid.
Some of Netanyahu’s political opponents have alleged that Qatari funds were used to help Hamas prepare its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Qatar has denied such allegations, stating that any claims it finances Hamas are unfounded and pointing to strict oversight governing its aid transfers. Sheikh Mohammed said during last year’s Doha Forum that “all our aid … went to Gaza, went to the people, and was under a very transparent process that the United States is fully aware about.”
Netanyahu made the remarks weeks before Israelis head to the polls on October 27 for the country’s first general election since the Gaza war began in 2023. The prime minister faces mounting pressure at home over his government’s handling of the Gaza war, economic challenges, and ongoing conflict with Iran. Political analysts and critics have noted that Netanyahu has repeatedly stoked tensions with other states ahead of elections to rally nationalist support among voters.
Sources
- Al Jazeera — Netanyahu’s September 6, 2026 i24NEWS interview, his statements on Qatar and Gaza aid transfers, and background on the September 2025 Doha strike and subsequent apology
- Reuters — Netanyahu’s September 29, 2025 apology to Qatar during a White House call with Trump
- The New York Times — Netanyahu’s re-election challenges and his need for security crises to rally voters
- Wikipedia — Details on the 2026 Israeli legislative election scheduled for October 27
