Israel has dismantled a major Hamas financial network spanning Gaza and Turkey.
By Hezy Laing
The IDF and Shin Bet recently achieved a major breakthrough in the campaign against the Hamas terrorist organization’s financial infrastructure, eliminating 16 senior economic operatives responsible for transferring funds and financing the organization’s military activities.
The total value of the funds managed by the eliminated terrorists is estimated at more than $1 billion.
Among the senior officials killed was Ibrahim Abu Shamala, who served as head of finances for Hamas’s military wing, and Muhammad Abu Alwan, who was assassinated last week and was responsible for the organization’s political wing.
According to a joint statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and Shin Bet, Abu Alwan joined Hamas approximately a decade ago and was responsible for budgeting all of the organization’s systems.
The operation also targeted senior figures responsible for receiving, transferring and distributing Hamas funds, including Khader Jamazi, Ihab Karizam and Hussein Qadra.
Qadra headed the financial infrastructure and, together with Muhammad Fara and other Hamas operatives, ran a sophisticated network of couriers and money changers.
According to details released by the IDF, the network included dozens of couriers and money changers operating in Turkey and the Gaza Strip, moving cash through alternative financial channels designed to circumvent conventional banking systems and international financial oversight.
The funds were used for several key purposes: paying salaries to Hamas terrorists, purchasing and stockpiling weapons, rebuilding the organization’s terrorist infrastructure, and planning and carrying out attacks against IDF forces and Israeli civilians.
Even after the ceasefire agreement took effect, Hamas continued paying its operatives and financing military activity, in violation of the agreement.
The IDF and Shin Bet have made clear that individuals directly involved in Hamas’s military-financing mechanisms are considered legitimate targets for elimination.
Israel’s defense establishment will continue working to disrupt and dismantle the financial networks that transfer money to Hamas and enable the organization to maintain its terrorist capabilities.
At the same time, the IDF and Shin Bet have warned residents of the Gaza Strip about the continuing danger posed by individuals involved in Hamas’s financial infrastructure.
Other operatives remain engaged in raising, transferring and distributing funds for Hamas’s military activities, potentially placing local residents at further risk.
Israeli security forces remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire arrangements and will continue taking action against security threats and efforts to restore Hamas’s military capabilities.
