Hamas’s attack on Israel last Saturday required enormous financial resources: drones were used, cyber attacks were carried out, and an estimated 2,500-5,000 rockets were fired in the first day alone.
By comparison, an attack two years ago used the same amount of resources over 11 days, suggesting that the organization’s funding has since increased significantly. At the same time, since Hamas designated as a terrorist organization, he was sanctioned and excluded from the international banking system. And if she tries to raise funds, she is tracked down by counter-terrorism services.
However, the organization is on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest terrorist organizations – with Hamas consistently ranking in the top ten in recent years. Its revenues were last estimated at $500 million, down from $1 billion a year a few years ago.
Cryptocurrencies
Apparently, a significant source of his income is related to cryptocurrencies. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has frozen hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts following a request from Israeli authorities this week.
Over the past two years, about $41 million worth of cryptocurrencies have ended up in Hamas-linked digital wallets, according to Tel Aviv-based analytics firm BitOK. During the same period, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, which is believed to be involved in Saturday’s attack, received $93 million in cryptocurrencies.
Hamas has been using cryptocurrencies to raise funds for years. However, in April he said he was stopping using Bitcoin due to growing “hostility” towards donors.
Iranian support and donations
While it has not yet been established whether Iran was involved in last Saturday’s attack, it is widely believed to fund Hamas to the tune of about $100 million a year.
Hamas also receives financial support from several countries, including Qatar and Turkey. These sponsorships are of course not direct and therefore difficult to trace to their source.
Contributions from Palestinian expatriates and Gulf donors are also significant. In addition, to achieve its goals, Hamas assembles the so-called zakata kind of tax for the faithful.
Finally, it organizes fundraising abroad, such as in the Gulf countries, Western Europe and North America.
Officially, these donations are believed to go toward Hamas’s social activities and not toward weapons mobilization. However, some of these donors end up being classified as terrorist organizations, such as the Canadian Foundation for the Victims and Needy, which was found to have donated approximately $14.6 million to various Hamas-linked entities between 2005 and 2009. .
Taxes
Every month, Hamas collects approximately $12-15 million in taxes levied on goods from Egypt, such as cigarettes, fuel and even construction materials. In 2022, he also imposed taxes on goods from the West Bank, further burdening the Gaza Strip’s population, most of whom live in extreme poverty.
Business and investment
Hamas also has a division whose sole purpose is to raise money. It reportedly managed at least $500 million in assets in 2022, investing in companies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and even Sudan, particularly in real estate or construction. It is worth noting that the US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against those organizations associated with Hamas.
Financial assistance from EU
Over the past 3 years, the European Commission has allocated to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip 681 million euros. On Monday, a statement was made about the cessation of this assistance, but literally a few hours later it was refuted. The European Commission said it would audit financial aid provided over the past three years to ensure it did not fall into the hands of Hamas. However, no one doubts that Hamas, as the main force in the Gaza Strip, received its “share” of this money. At the same time, the commission emphasized that humanitarian assistance in the amount of $27.9 million to the Gaza Strip will continue this year.
Help from the USA
On October 11, 2023, the District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the petition of US Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who claims that the US government, by directing funding to the Gaza Strip, thereby contributed to the development of the Hamas movement.
For 2021, the amount allocated by Washington to the Gaza Strip amounted to $235 million. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “This includes $75 million in economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, $10 million for peacebuilding programs through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and $150 million dollars in humanitarian aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA),” Blinken said.
In 2018, former US President Donald Trump froze aid to Palestine in order to involve the Palestinians in negotiations on his proposed plan for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, Joe Biden resumed it almost immediately after taking office as president.
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