From crypto to charity: How is Hamas funded?

More to the point: Where Hamas's money comes fromAG/p>

HAMAS, the European Union-declared terrorist group, recently launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that requires enormous financial resources. In this attack, terrorists used drones, cyberattacks, and between 2,500 and 5,000 missiles in a single day. Compared to the previous attack two years ago, when they used the same amount of weaponry for 11 days, we can conclude that their resources have increased significantly.

But as a terrorist organization, Hamas is subject to sanctions and denied access to the international banking system. Any attempts by the group to raise funds face opposition from international efforts to counter terrorist financing.

Till then, Hamas was recognized as one of the richest terrorist groups in the world by Forbes magazine in 2014. Its annual turnover was then estimated at $1 billion (€942 million) from taxes, fees, financial aid and donations. But are these sources their only source of income?

The largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has frozen hundreds of Hamas-linked crypto accounts at the request of Israeli law enforcement. According to Tel Aviv-based cryptanalytics and software firm BitOK, Hamas-linked digital currency wallets have received about $41 million in the past two years. According to cryptocurrency researcher Elliptic, the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad received $93 million in cryptocurrency during the same period.

HAMAS has long supported the use of cryptocurrencies as a fundraising tool, but said in April this year that it would stop accepting donations in bitcoin, calling the increase "hostile" activity against donors.

While many question whether Iran, an enemy of Israel, funded the recent attack, it is widely recognized that Tehran funds Hamas to the tune of about $100 million a year, according to U.S.

HAMAS also receives financial support from several countries such as Qatar and Turkey. However, these countries do not directly fund the group's military activities, so it is difficult to track where the money goes.

Much of Hamas's funding comes from Palestinian emigrants and private donors in the Persian Gulf. Hamas also collects so-called Zakat, an Islamic charitable donation, to carry out its missions and goals.

The group also conducts fundraising abroad, including in the Gulf States, Western Europe and North America. Hamas-affiliated charities do not officially fund the group's armed wing, but rather its social charitable activities.

Some of these organizations, however, turn out to be self-recognized terrorist organizations, such as the Ottawa-based Foundation for the Needy, which transferred some $14.6 million in resources to various Hamas-linked groups between 2005 and 2009.

Every month Hamas collects between $12 and $15 million in taxes on goods imported from Egypt, the most taxed products being cigarettes, fuel and even construction materials. The group also imposed new taxes on imported goods from the West Bank in 2022. This has hit hard those already living in extreme poverty on the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in the coastal strip has reached 45%, and more than 60% of Gazans are in need of humanitarian aid.

By July 2022, the food independence rate in Gaza has reached 65% and the poverty rate is 65%, according to the same report.

Hamas has a department dedicated to accumulating funds. According to German 2022 reports, Hamas was able to amass more than $500 million (471.5 million euros) in assets by investing in companies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and even Sudan, mostly in real estate or construction.

The U.S. Treasury Department immediately imposed sanctions on individuals associated with these financial schemes, but it can be assumed that the group has not abandoned these activities.

For the time being, it is possible that aid offered to people living in extreme poverty in Gaza will be subject to scrutiny to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands.

The European Commission said it would conduct an "urgent review" of €681 million worth of development aid allocated by the EU over the past three years to make sure they were not funding Hamas.

In response to criticism of the announcement to suspend all financial aid to Palestine, the Commission assured that it intends to send 27.9 million euros of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip this year.

Gaza's economic situation was already dire even before Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, and the ensuing war will almost certainly exacerbate the extreme poverty of its residents.