A secret Israeli influence campaign targeting Qatar was launched in the weeks after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, with its organisers seeking to pressure Doha over its relationship with Hamas, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The initiative was presented as a civilian campaign and aimed to build international pressure on Qatar in the hope that it would use its ties with Hamas to help secure the release of 251 captives taken to Gaza, the report said.
About 30 people were recruited, including political advisers and specialists in influence operations and psychological warfare. A WhatsApp group named Free the Kidnapped was created several days after the attacks, although the identities of those who initiated the operation were barred from publication.
Participants raised funds, produced videos, contacted journalists and arranged media appearances. They also established a multilingual website and opened social media accounts, while a former Mossad official was reported to have been involved.
Campaign focused on Qatar-Hamas relationship
Messages shared by members included a question about how much Qatar gave Hamas each year, or what other financial figure could be used against the country. Another participant replied: “Qatar-ISIS Ltd”.
The phrase “Hamas is ISIS” was later used on the campaign’s website and Facebook profile, according to the report. The operation was abruptly halted about a month after it began.
“After a while, it was shut down. We stopped dealing with the Qatar campaign,” one participant told Haaretz. “I never heard anything more about the campaign.”
Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, said the initiative would be unlikely to have existed without the involvement of an actor such as Israel. He said he had tracked a campaign against Qatar for the past three years that sounded similar.
“I imagine it stopped either because they are pretending it is not happening or outsourced it to another entity for cover,” he said.
Qatar has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, and has hosted the group’s political office since 2012. Qatari officials have said the office was established at the request of the United States.
Doha has repeatedly denied allegations that it funds Hamas, saying its aid transfers are subject to strict oversight. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, said last year that the country’s assistance went to people in Gaza through a transparent process known to the United States, with Israel facilitating it.
He said Qatar’s communication with Hamas had helped bring about ceasefires, secure the release of hostages and reduce suffering in Gaza.
Despite Qatar’s role in indirect negotiations, Israel carried out a missile strike on the country last year targeting Hamas’s negotiating team. The attack killed six people, including a Qatari national, and was condemned by countries including France and the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologised for the strike.
