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- Despite its violence, Hamas “seems to have gained support among certain population segments internationally as a perceived resistance vanguard,” Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist website Militant Wire, explained
PARIS: Hamas has been the focus of a relentless Israeli onslaught in Gaza but with resilient and diverse finances, it is expected to have a significant war chest at its disposal as the conflict drags on.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annihilate the Palestinian movement behind the October 7 attack — the deadliest in the country’s history.
As Israel pursues its military objective, undermining Hamas’s revenue streams will also prove a formidable task.
“Hamas is financially solid,” Jessica Davis, president of the Canadian group Insight Threat Intelligence, said.
“In the last decade, if not longer, they have been creating a resilient finance network,” she said, explaining the group had set up investments and sources of income in many countries without being disrupted.
These sources include “small businesses and real estate” in countries such as Turkiye, Sudan, and Algeria, she added.
Hamas also relies on an informal network of donations.
It has become “very good at developing and operating a very complex system of money changers,” said Yitzhak Gal, an Israeli expert on the Palestinian economy, explaining the exchanges run through Turkiye, Europe, and the US.
The number of donors has not necessarily decreased since Oct. 7.
Despite its violence, Hamas “seems to have gained support among certain population segments internationally as a perceived resistance vanguard,” Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist website Militant Wire, explained.
For years, the group’s major backer has been Tehran.
Estimates put Iran’s annual contribution at between $70 million and $100 million through various sources, including cryptocurrency payments, suitcases of cash and transfers via foreign banks, and the informal “hawala” system.
According to Gal, Iranian aid in the form of military equipment was smuggled in years past via tunnels dug between Gaza and the Sinai desert, which are now blocked.
Following Hamas’ 2006 election victory and its seizure of power the following year after clashes with rivals, the distinction between money intended for the territory’s now 2.4 million inhabitants and the group’s finances has blurred.
“Anything coming in goes into Hamas, and they decide who will live and who will die,” Gal said.
Of the Gaza Strip’s $2.5 billion budget, $1.1 billion comes from the Palestinian Authority, with Israel’s agreement, said Gal, who is a specialist at the Mitvim think tank.
The international community funds UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
In October, Washington imposed sanctions on 10 “key members of Hamas,” and the West is considering coercive measures.
But cutting off Hamas completely will likely be impossible.
“The prospect of a long-term complete destruction of Hamas finances is not realistic,” Davis said.
“You can disrupt it, take out key players, you can minimize sources of funds, but the network, the infrastructure will always be there, and if the group still has supporters, they can be leveraged to help them,” she added.
Gal explained Hamas’ future finances would be linked to how the future of Gaza, a tiny territory wedged between Egypt, Israel, and the Mediterranean, is resolved.
“When the war stops and normal life resumes, the question will be: will this whole financing system resume or change?” he said.
“Gaza is now one big refugee camp. Who will be in charge of providing food, water, and shelter to these refugees, Hamas or another organization, another mechanism?“