Dollar bills (illustrative)
Dollar bills (illustrative)Thinkstock

Israel has asked Qatar to stop the transfer of money into Gaza following the latest escalation in the south, Palestinian Arab media reported on Monday.

At the same time, the reports said that the Qatari envoy to the region, Mohammed al-Amadi, had said that he would postpone his visit to the region until calm is restored.

Later on Monday, however, Channel 10 News reported that, contrary to earlier reports, Qatar and the UN envoy to the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, conveyed a message to Hamas that the money would enter the Gaza Strip within two days.

According to the report, which cited news outlets affiliated with Hamas, the terror group was informed that the Qatari money would enter Gaza provided the organization did not escalate the security situation.

Israel has already allowed two installments of Qatari money to enter Gaza, allowing for the payment of Hamas employees in Gaza.

The third installment had been scheduled to enter Gaza before Sunday’s round of escalation, which began when Hamas terrorists launched balloon bombs into Israeli territory using a model airplane.

On Sunday afternoon, IDF helicopters opened fire on Hamas posts in Gaza, in retaliation for the launching of the balloon bombs into Israeli territory.

Overnight Sunday, shortly after 3:00 a.m., terrorists from Gaza fired a rocket towards southern Israel that was intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.

The IDF retaliated by attacking a number of terrorist targets in a military camp belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanua commented earlier on Monday on the reports that Israel was stopping the Qatari funds from entering Gaza.

"The Zionist occupation does not grant us our rights, we have to take our rights by force and not have them be given to us," said the Hamas spokesman, according to Channel 10 News.

“The demonstrations near the fence will continue until the siege is broken,” he continued. " The mediators must impose on Israel the understandings and carry out what remains of them. The Zionist occupation is the one that bears the consequences of violating its promise or the consequences of its evasion of the understandings and the rights of the Palestinian people."