Gaza hostages' families consulted by Qatari-funded entities - report

Entities who have benefitted from Qatari funding are among those advising families of Gaza captives recently, according to a new report published by Politico. This move has raised flags as Qatar has served as one of the primary mediators between Israel and Hamas.

The role played by Qatar in this scenario also appears contradictory - Qatar is the home to Hamas political leadership, and Hamas is currently holding more than 130 hostages in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip. 

Families of captives have turned to every channel possible to spread the word about their loved ones held by Hamas. In January, the Bring Them Home movement with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum enlisted the services of acclaimed New York public relations firm BerlinRosen to continue their campaigns.

The families are constantly working to keep their relatives in both Israeli and international media sources. Jay Footlik, a consultant for Qatar, has met with captive families in both Washington DC and Israel in preparation for their meetings with officials from Qatar, POLITICO reported.

Footlik's ThirdCircle Inc., a consulting firm, has been helping to arrange trips to Qatar for American officials on behalf of the Qatari Embassy, paying the firm roughly $40,000 monthly, according to information obtained by American media, citing documentation from the US Justice Department.

Footlik is a former special assistant to the Clinton administration. His longstanding relationship with Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe helped pave the way for Footlik to connect Qatar with hostage families, according to the POLITICO report.

Hostage families believe Netanyahu stoked tension with Qatar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his associates intentionally stoked tensions with Qatar by leaking a tape in which he insulted Doha’s efforts to negotiate a deal, the families' campaign to free the hostages said in a sharply worded statement on Thursday morning.

"All conversations that take place in meetings with the Prime Minister are recorded by his office and his associates present at the meeting,” the campaign’s spokesperson, Haim Rubinstein, said. “The families participating in the meeting had their phones taken at the entrance,” he added.

“The decision whether to leak information concerning the deal and its intermediaries is the Prime Minister's office,” Rubinstein stated.

He spoke in response to a story on Channel 12, which featured a leaked recording from the closed-door meeting held with the family earlier this week in which Netanyahu could be heard referring to Qatar as a “problematic mediator.”

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.