Following the
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Qatar hosted an emergency conference of Arab states and Iran to discuss the conflict. The
Hamas administration in Gaza, as opposed to the
Fatah-controlled
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, represented the Palestinians, undermining support for Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas.
Khalid Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, President
Bashar al-Assad of
Syria, and
President Ahmadinejad of
Iran urged all Arab states to cut any remaining ties to Israel. In 2013, Qatar reportedly assisted in an Israeli operation to bring a group of
Yemenite Jews to Israel. The claim was made by a
Lebanese Arabic newspaper. According to the source, 60 Jews fleeing Yemen were allowed to transition from Doha on a flight to Israel. On 30 April 2013, Qatari Prime Minister
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said that final status agreements with the Palestinians could involve land swaps instead of sticking to the 1967 borders. This was received positively in Israel with Justice Minister
Tzipi Livni saying: "This news is very positive. In the tumultuous world around ... it could allow the Palestinians to enter the room and make the needed compromises and it sends a message to the Israeli public that this is not just about us and the Palestinians", adding that "peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis is ... a strategic choice for the Arab states". Israeli leaders harshly criticized Qatar's diplomatic and financial support of Hamas in the wake of
2014 Gaza War, accusing the Qataris of being major sponsors of terrorism. Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman called for the banishment of Qatar-based
Al Jazeera journalists from Israel. On 9 March 2015, Qatar's ambassador to Gaza reportedly sought direct approval from Israel to import construction material into the
Gaza Strip after Egypt had refused to allow the Qatari delegation through the
Rafah border crossing. The Palestinian Authority and Fatah lashed out at Qatar, condemning their efforts to engage in direct communication with Israel. Jihad Harb, a political analyst and author, claimed that Qatar "might assume the role of mediator between Gaza and Israel, thus usurping the roles of the PA and Egypt." In June 2017, Israel backed the
Saudi-led bloc of Arab states opposed to Qatar in the
2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, and announced the expulsion of Qatari state-funded broadcaster
Al Jazeera Media Network from Israel. Emirati author
Salem Al Ketbi claimed, without due substantiation, that towards the end of the 20th century, Qatar had boycotted some countries that resorted to peace and normalisation of relations with Israel. During the
Gaza war, Qatar mediated between Hamas and Israel. They reached the
2023 Gaza war ceasefire and the exchange of more than 100 Israeli hostages for 240
Palestinian prisoners. In April 2024, Essa Al-Nassr, a brigadier general at the Emiri Guard and member of the
Consultative Assembly of Qatar stated that "there will be no peace nor negotiations with the Zionist entity for one reason: because their mentality does not recognize negotiations, but rather only… breaking promises and lying… They only recognize one thing, which is killings; since they are killers of prophets.” He has also referred to the
October 7 attacks as a “prelude to the annihilation of the corruption of the ‘second Zionist entity’ upon earth". On 19 January 2025, a
ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Hamas by Qatar, United States and Egypt suspended the
Gaza war, involving the release of
Israeli hostages and
Palestinian prisoners. On 10 October 2025,
another Gaza peace agreement brokered between Israel and Hamas by Qatar, United States, Turkey and Egypt went into effect. In February 2026,
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on the United States to designate Qatar as a “hostile” or “enemy” state, alleging that Doha had acted in ways that undermine Israeli interests. He linked the call to alleged Qatari influence operations and anti-Israel activity abroad, including in academic and political spheres. Lapid also supported legislative efforts in Israel to formally classify Qatar as an enemy state under Israeli law and urged U.S. lawmakers to adopt a similar designation.
Israeli airstrike on Doha On 9 September 2025, Israel conducted
an airstrike on Hamas leadership in
Doha, marking the first direct Israeli strike on one of the
Gulf Cooperation Council members. Israel dubbed the airstrike as
Operation Atzeret HaDin (). The targeted included Hamas negotiators who were working on a settlement mediated by Qatar to end the
Gaza war. Qatar condemned the airstrike, calling it a "cowardly Israeli attack” and a violation of international law and sovereignty. The attack claimed the life of one Qatari security official, Lance Corporal Bader Saad Mohammed Al Humaidi Al Dosari. The airstrike took place at a residential complex on Wadi Rawdan Street in the
Leqtaifiya (or West Bay Lagoon) district of
Doha. The neighborhood is home to several residential developments, embassies, supermarkets, restaurants, cafeterias and international schools. Israel had claimed that the airstrike was in response to the
2025 Ramot Junction shooting, which had occurred a day before the shooting where two Palestinian militants opened fire at the Ramot Junction in
East Jerusalem, slaying 6 and injuring 21 persons. The Israeli Air Force deployed 10 fighter jets in the operation, launching more than 10 precision munitions at the intended target. The airstrike led to Australia's government issuing travel warnings for travelers heading to Qatar, warning that the security situation in the country was 'unpredictable,' a serious alert given that Doha is a major aviation hub, although the airstrike in itself did not lead to any flight disruptions that day at
Hamad International Airport. The office of then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a post on X that the undertaking was a "wholly independent Israeli operation," adding that "Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility." On September 29, 2025, during a press conference at the White House,
Donald Trump declared that Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to the
Gaza peace plan, and that both leaders, along with the Prime Minister of Qatar, had engaged in a "great" and "productive" conversation. Additionally, the three leaders decided to establish "a formal trilateral mechanism between Israel, Qatar, and the United States to begin a dialogue to enhance mutual security, correct misperceptions, and avoid future misgivings." On 29 September 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Qatari Prime Minister
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in a phone call for the violation of Qatar's sovereignty during the recent attack on
Doha and the killing of a Qatari security officer. The call took place during Netanyahu's meeting with Donald Trump. According to reports, a formal Israeli apology was one of Qatar's primary conditions for resuming negotiations with
Hamas on an agreement to end the Gaza war and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
Diplomatic visits Despite Qatar's support of
Hamas, Israeli leaders have maintained direct contact with the emirate. In January 2007, in his last months as vice premier, former President
Shimon Peres paid a high-profile visit to the capital city of
Doha. Peres also visited Qatar in 1996, when he launched the new Israeli trade bureau there. In January 2008, Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak met with former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani in
Switzerland, at the
World Economic Forum. The existence of the surreptitious talks has so far been kept secretive by Israel. Foreign Affairs Minister
Tzipi Livni also met with the Qatari Emir at a UN conference in 2008. In April 2008, she visited Qatar where she attended a conference and met the Emir, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Oil and Gas. In December 2023, it was announced that Qatar and Israel leaders would be meeting each other in Norway later in the year. In January 2025, Israeli President
Isaac Herzog met with Qatari Prime Minister
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on the sidelines of the
World Economic Forum in
Davos and thanked him for Qatari role in securing
a hostage deal. ==Cultural relations==