The Israeli army announced on Friday that it had targeted a financial network that it said had transferred more than $1 billion to Hamas through dozens of money changers in the Gaza Strip and other countries. It said operations against those working in the network had caused “significant damage” to the movement’s funding capabilities.
Army says 16 financial operatives killed
The army and the Shin Bet security agency said they had killed 16 people since the outbreak of the war whom they described as leading operatives in money changing and transfers to Hamas. They added that the individuals were part of a financial network that, according to the Israeli account, was used to fund the movement’s military activities. According to the army, the network handled transfers worth more than $1 billion and operated through dozens of money changers inside and outside the Gaza Strip.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the announcement, and it was not possible to independently verify all details concerning the network or the amount of money cited by the army. The list of names the army said it had targeted included Ibrahim Abu Shamala, whom it described as a financial official in Hamas’s military wing, as well as Mohammed Abu Alwan, whom Israel said it killed last Wednesday and identified as responsible for the political wing’s finances.
Details of Mohammed Abu Alwan’s killing in Khan Younis
The Israeli army separately announced on Thursday that Abu Alwan had been killed in a strike carried out in cooperation with the Shin Bet in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip. It said at the time that Abu Alwan had worked within Hamas’s financial system for about a decade and had funded various sectors of the movement.
The earlier Israeli announcement said that more than 1 billion shekels had been transferred under Abu Alwan’s supervision during the war. That figure relates to the activity the army attributed specifically to Abu Alwan and differs from the $1 billion amount it said the broader financial network handled through money changers in Gaza and other countries.
Other names accused of managing financial transfers
The army also named several people whom it described as being responsible for money-transfer networks, including Khader al-Jamasi, Ihab Krayzem and Hussein al-Qudra. It said they managed clearing operations, as well as receiving and delivering money on behalf of Hamas.
According to Israeli army allegations, the transferred funds were used to finance the movement’s operatives, purchase and enhance combat capabilities, rehabilitate military infrastructure and fund operations against Israeli forces. It said the network’s reach, extending to dozens of money changers inside and outside the Strip, enabled the transfers connected to these activities.
The army and the Shin Bet added that they were continuing efforts to target Hamas’s financial capabilities, including money-changing networks and those responsible for transferring funds. In its previous announcement, the army had said these efforts were aimed at preventing the movement from rebuilding its military capabilities. The announced operations are part of continuing Israeli actions against Hamas’s sources of funding, alongside military operations.
During the war, the army published statements and documents that it said revealed financial channels and operations used by the movement inside the Gaza Strip, while Hamas repeatedly questioned Israeli accounts of a number of its operations and their results.
The army said targeting financial officials and money-changing networks had caused “significant damage” to Hamas’s financial capabilities and military activities. Its statement did not include an independent estimate of the funds still available to the movement or its current ability to operate alternative networks to finance its activities.
