Report: Western intel officials suspect Qatar knew more before Oct. 7 than it let on

Anonymous Western intelligence officials tell POLITICO that they suspect Qatar knew more about Hamas’s October 7 onslaught ahead of time than it let on, but say they lack hard evidence to back up the suspicion.

“We’re still looking into it,” says a top intelligence official of a major European power, adding that there was “smoke” but no smoking gun.

They certainly see a motive for Qatar to back such an attack: “It is in Qatar’s interest to put obstacles in the way of the normalization process between Saudi and Israel,” says one of the officials. “Any refitting for the balance of power is going to undermine Qatar’s position as the top diplomatic player that can do everything.”

Qatar has positioned itself as an indispensable mediator in indirect hostage talks between Israel and the Hamas terror group.