Report alleges Israeli-linked anti-Qatar influence campaign after October 7 attacks

A report has alleged that an Israeli-linked influence campaign targeting Qatar was assembled in the weeks after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 and then halted abruptly. According to the report, the effort was aimed at pressuring Doha over its relationship with Hamas and encouraging it to help secure the release of captives taken to Gaza. The alleged campaign is said to have involved about 30 people, including influence specialists and political advisers.

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The report says the project began days after the assault on southern Israel and was organised around a WhatsApp group called Free the Kidnapped. It also says an ex-Mossad official was among those involved, although the identities of the people who initiated the operation were not published. The newspaper described the effort as a civilian initiative, while one academic quoted in the report said it was unlikely such a campaign would exist without the motivation of an actor such as Israel.

Qatar has played a central mediation role between Hamas and Israel since the war in Gaza began, hosting indirect negotiations and acting as a channel for talks on captives. That role has made Doha a significant diplomatic actor in the conflict, but also a target of competing pressure campaigns. The report places the alleged influence operation in that wider context, suggesting it was designed to shape international opinion and increase pressure on Qatar to use its leverage with Hamas.

The allegations also come against the backdrop of earlier military tensions involving Qatar. The report says Israeli forces carried out a missile strike on the country last year, targeting Hamas's negotiating team, and that six people were killed, including a Qatari national. It says the strike was condemned by countries including France and the United Kingdom, and that Benjamin Netanyahu later apologised for it.

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The report further says Israel and Hamas later agreed to a ceasefire deal, which Israel has since violated hundreds of times. The claims are significant because they point to the use of influence operations alongside military and diplomatic pressure in a conflict that has spread well beyond Gaza. If accurate, the alleged campaign would show an effort to shape perceptions of Qatar's role as mediator while also trying to affect negotiations over captives.

It would also add to scrutiny of how states and affiliated actors use covert messaging, political advisers and psychological warfare specialists in wartime. What remains unclear is who exactly authorised or directed the alleged campaign, how far it reached, and whether it had any measurable effect on Qatar's position or on negotiations. The report says the initiative was stopped abruptly, but gives no detailed explanation for why.

Further reporting would be needed to establish the chain of command, the full scope of the operation and whether any official bodies were involved.

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