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Bassem Eid: To Understand October 7, Look to Qatar
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
How did Hamas do it on October 7?
This time, I don’t mean to ask how they had so little humanity as to butcher over 1,200 innocents in Israel in a single day of horrors, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Nor do I refer to the level of brainwashing or innate evil necessary to kill 370 young people at a dance party, to rape and genitally mutilate screaming women and girls, or to drag 250 hostages — including 12 Americans — back to Gaza.
No, at present, I am speaking of practical and, ultimately, financial capability: how was Hamas able to afford the trucks, the motorcycles, the assault weapons and grenades, the paragliders and massive tunnel networks that enabled their terroristic invasion on that black day? To a large extent, the answer can be found at a single address: Qatar, the absolute monarchy on the Arabian peninsula that is the beating heart of modern terrorism financing.
According to a newly revealed report by the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, one of the things that enabled Hamas to build up its forces for the October 7 onslaught was “the flow of money from Qatar to Gaza and its delivery to Hamas’s military wing.” This occurred in partnership with the better known bête noire of the United States and Israel in the Middle East — the rogue state of Iran — which has been officially designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the US State Department since 1984. Overall, the Shin Bet determined that Hamas’s achievement of strike capacity “was to a large degree due to the strategic buttress provided by Iran and the use of the funds that came in from Iran and Qatar.”
What explains the deep involvement of Qatar in antisemitism and international terrorism? In a word: ideology.
Qatar’s official version of Islam is the stark form called Wahhabism. Since the 1990s, Qatar has positioned itself as the major funder of the radical front for Islamist political theocracy known as the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Hamas, which Qatar has heavily funded, is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its 1988 founding charter commits it to the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in its place. Qatar was the primary physical residence and base for Hamas’s international leadership from 2012 until late 2024, when American pressure grew too great in the wake of the October 7 massacre.
Qatar’s reach stretches far beyond direct terrorism — its persuasive reach has astonishing access through Qatar’s state-owned media corporation, Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera has become a household name worldwide, and many Westerners are surprised to learn that the channel, which has provided media access for radical figures from Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden, is the property of the Qatari government and, as such, has never once voiced criticism of the Qatari state or its royal family.
Not only Israel but also several Arab states have scrutinized Qatar’s Al Jazeera for its platforming of Hamas, for which it provides highly slanted positive coverage and boosting.
So why is Qatar, a small maritime state, so powerful when it seems so vulnerable on a map? Because unlike Iran, with its regular “Death to America” chants, Qatar has never publicly positioned itself in opposition to the American-led international order. Far from it: the largest United States air base in the Middle East, al Udeid Air Base, which played a critical role in the fight against ISIS, is hosted by Qatar. The Qatari government has contributed billions of dollars to the base’s development. The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for security in the Middle East and Central Asia, maintains its forward operating headquarters in Qatar.
Indeed, Qatar’s “soft power” globally, including in the United States, goes far beyond media reach or security cooperation. The wealthy Qatar Development Fund, a state-owned investment entity, has poured resources into critical and sensitive United States infrastructure. Notably, Qatar has invested billions in US higher education, with research indicating that Qatar-funded groups are behind many of the antisemitic and pro-Hamas “protests” that have roiled US campuses since Hamas launched its war on October 7, 2023. Much of this Qatari funding has not been reported to the US Department of Education, as required by law, with Yale University, for example, having allegedly concealed millions of dollars in Qatari investments that are believed to have fueled anti-Israel attitudes on campus.
Qatar is wealthy and powerful mainly because the United States and its allies have allowed it to be, and the consequences are now plain for all to see. Unlike Iran, Qatar is not a large, mountainous country with millions of inhabitants; it is a small, low-lying peninsula with a total population under 3 million, of whom about 90% are foreign noncitizens. It is an absolute monarchy whose ruling al Thani dynasty retains a complete monopoly on political power.
Now, it is upon the US Congress to designate Qatar for what it is — a major state sponsor of terrorism — and to impose sanctions on its ruling class. Doing so would compel change and dry up one of the primary financial sources of instability in today’s world. Failing to change the status quo risks leading to more horrors like those the Qatari-sponsored terrorists perpetrated in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Bassem Eid is a Jerusalem-based Palestinian political analyst, human rights pioneer and expert commentator on Arab and Palestinian affairs. He grew up in an UNRWA refugee camp. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @realbassemeid A version of this article was originally published by The Investigative Project on Terrorism.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza
Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest
Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
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US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed nonprofit operating aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, is pushing back forcefully against an Associated Press report alleging that its contractors opened fire on Palestinian civilians.
The GHF is accusing the AP of withholding key evidence and relying on a “disgruntled former contractor” as a central source.
“In response, we are pursuing legal action,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday.
GHF said it conducted an “immediate investigation” after being contacted by the AP, reviewing time-stamped video footage and sworn witness testimony. The group concluded that the allegations were “categorically false,” stating that no civilians were fired upon at any of their distribution sites and that the gunfire heard in the AP’s video came from Israeli forces operating outside the vicinity.
“What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations,” the statement read. “If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.”
The nonprofit’s public rebuttal raises sharp questions about the AP’s reporting process, suggesting the outlet declined to engage with the organization in good faith and instead leaned on a source GHF describes as having been terminated “for misconduct” weeks prior. The group also claimed the AP’s recent coverage of its activities had begun to “echo narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.”
The AP has not yet responded publicly to the GHF’s accusations or provided clarification about its decision not to share the video footage before publication. The original report alleged that American contractors employed by GHF had fired weapons near or toward civilians.
The GHF statement confirmed that a contractor seen shouting in the AP’s video had been removed from operations, though the group insisted this was unrelated to any violence and did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing.
GHF, which describes its mission as delivering food to Gaza “safely, directly, and without interference,” said it remains committed to transparency but would not allow its operations to be “derailed by misinformation.”
The dispute highlights the fraught information environment in Gaza, where limited access and competing narratives frequently complicate the verification of on-the-ground events.
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