After the Islamic State, Hamas is said to be the second-richest terrorist organisation in the world due to donations from overseas supporters and taxes on goods that are smuggled through tunnels.
The terrorist organisation Hamas has vast financial resources, and a recent social media post by Israel’s US Embassy brought attention to the gap between the leaders of the group and the Palestinian people they say they represent.
According to the claims made by israeli Embassy’s videos the Islamic State is expected to have an annual revenue that is two to three times greater than that of other terrorist groups, with Hamas having the second-highest annual turnover among terrorist groups at $1 billion.
It states that 12 percent of Gaza’s paediatric deaths are attributable to contaminated water because Hamas places tunnel construction above vital infrastructure like wells and water treatment.
You will find the tweet here.
It also determined the approximate net worth of several Hamas officials who live hundreds of kilometres away from Gaza in Qatar. The estimated net worths of Hamas Political Bureau deputy chair Abu Marzuk is $3 billion, while that of senior leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal are $4 billion each.
Taking it a step further, the website i24news recently estimated that Khaled Mashal is worth roughly $5 billion, with a portfolio of investments that includes banks in Egypt and real estate developments in the Arabian Gulf.
It suggests that hundreds of middle-class to upper-class Hamas officials have accumulated substantial wealth, often due to the 20% tax levied on all contraband imported through the organization’s network of underground tunnels and through foreign backers.
In addition to making money for themselves, Hamas assets are often paid to terrorists who are in prison or to their families. For those serving three years or less, the monthly payments are $400; for those serving thirty years or more, they are $3,400.
Irony is– this is in an area where the international poverty line is exceeded by 60% of Palestinians, who earn less than $60 per month.
Even though nations and organisations are working hard to seize Hamas’s assets, enforcement can be difficult. The United States Justice Department has been investigating the use of cryptocurrencies by Hamas since the group’s accounts were seized three years ago.
The military wing of the organisation, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced in April that it would no longer accept bitcoin donations following the identification and prosecution of numerous donors by US authorities. Nevertheless, after the October 7th strikes, Israel found and blocked several accounts, suggesting that some may still be active.
On October 18, the U.S. Department of Treasury levied penalties against “Hamas operatives and financial facilitators.” Among them were eight individuals with bases in the West Bank, Sudan, Turkey, Qatar, and other places, as well as Buy Cash, a virtual currency company. This was a report posted by One America News and the video released by Israeli Embassy.