By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-25

Hamas remains one of the wealthiest terrorist organizations in the world, with its leaders living in luxury far from the extreme poverty and devastation that are the reality for the Palestinian people living in Gaza, analysts say.

Residents of the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip have been suffering from poverty and difficult living conditions long before the latest conflict, sparked by the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on southern Israel.

But while Palestinians deal with shortages of fuel, food, clean drinking water and medical supplies, Hamas leaders enjoy a life of luxury in Doha, Qatar, seat of the group's political headquarters.

With a turnover of $1 billion annually, Hamas's wealth is second only to that of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), which has a turnover of between $2 billion and $3 billion annually, according to Forbes.

Hamas political leaders have also amassed vast personal wealth since the group seized control of the Gaza strip in 2007.

Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and senior political leader Khaled Mashaal are estimated to be worth at least $4 billion each, while Mousa Abu Marzook, deputy chair of Hamas's political office, is worth an estimated $3 billion.

All three are reportedly living in Qatar, and they and their families have been photographed in Doha's most luxurious hotels.

"It's just really the numbers that are shocking, looking at the sheer amount of money that some of these terror chiefs have been able to sock away," said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank in Washington, DC.

"The longer they stay away from the Gaza strip, the more they live in the lap of luxury," he told Fox News in an interview published November 8.

Hamas decides 'who will live, who will die'

In comparison, the total annual budget of the Gaza strip is $2.5 billion, with $1.1 billion coming from the Palestinian Authority, with Israel's agreement, according to Yitzhak Gal, an Israeli specialist on the Palestinian economy.

In 2020, the per capita annual GDP in Hamas-ruled Gaza stood at $1,049 -- four times lower than in the West Bank, which is administered by the Palestinian Authority, and in neighboring Jordan.

In the Gaza strip, 81.5% of individuals -- 71% of whom are Palestinian refugees -- live below the national poverty line, while 64% are food insecure, according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The international community funds UNRWA, which on October 11 appealed to donors for $104 million in urgent "life-saving aid" to fund its programs in Gaza for 90 days.

Meanwhile, Qatar pays the salaries of civil servants, such as doctors and teachers, and gives $100 per month to the territory's 100,000 poorest families -- totalling $1.49 billion in payments between 2012 and 2021, according to Doha.

"Anything coming in goes into Hamas, and they decide who will live and who will die," Gal told AFP.

As the war enters its third month, the situation for Gazans is deteriorating, while Hamas remains well stocked and well funded.

Hamas has spent years using its funds to build dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels and stockpiling supplies needed for a drawn-out fight, Arab and Western officials told The New York Times.

"Hamas has hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel for vehicles and rockets; caches of ammunition, explosives and materials to make more; and stockpiles of food, water and medicine," the newspaper reported October 27.

In an article published by the Jerusalem Times, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror, former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Hamas's leadership "steals money from Gazans, both inside and outside of Gaza."

A 'financially solid' war chest

For years Tehran has played a major role in supporting Hamas financially and with military equipment smuggled through the terrorist group's vast network of underground tunnels, some of which are now blocked.

After the death of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004, Mashaal reportedly asked the Islamic Republic for additional funding.

Iran's annual contribution is now estimated between $70 million and $100 million, through a diverse range of sources that include payments in cryptocurrency, suitcases of cash, and transfers via foreign banks and the informal "hawala" system.

"Hamas is financially solid," Jessica Davis, president of the Canadian group Insight Threat Intelligence, told AFP.

"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 Türkiye, 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 Gal, the Israeli analyst, explaining the exchanges run through Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Europe and the United States.

The number of donors has not necessarily decreased since October 7.

"Despite its atrocities, Hamas seems to have gained support amongst certain population segments internationally as a perceived resistance vanguard," Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist website Militant Wire, told AFP.

Sanctioning Hamas operatives

Undermining Hamas's revenue streams is a formidable task, but sanctions that disrupt the individuals and companies supporting Hamas are one tool in a comprehensive multi-faceted approach to countering the group's malign activities.

In October, Washington imposed sanctions on 10 "key members of Hamas," and the West is considering coercive measures.

The US government's Rewards for Justice program is also offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of Hamas's financial mechanisms.

Hamas operatives and investors included in the recent sanctions include the following:

Muhammad Ahmad Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah, a longtime Hamas operative based in Qatar with close ties to Iranian entities. He has been involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, including to Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, an Egyptian national based in Türkiye. He serves as the Hamas investment portfolio secretary and coordinates various activities for Hamas-controlled companies and Hamas officials.

Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa is the chief executive officer for Türkiye-based Trend GYO, a Hamas-linked real estate investment fund.

As of 2018, Hamas elements held about 75% of Trend GYO's issued capital. Additionally, Hamas planned to privately issue more than $15 million of Trend GYO's shares to senior officials in the investment portfolio.

Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair is a Sudan-based Hamas financier who has managed numerous companies in Hamas's investment portfolio. He also has long-established financing ties to al-Qaeda and companies linked to Osama bin Laden in Sudan.

He was previously involved in the transfer of almost $20 million to Hamas, including funds sent directly to senior Hamas financial officer Mahir Jawad Yunis Salah, who is also subject to US sanctions.

Hamza's money-laundering and revenue-generating network for Hamas includes Sudan-based Al Rowad Real Estate Development, Zawaya Group for Development and Investment Co. LTD, and Larrycom for Investment Company, as well as Spain-based Zawaya Group for Development Investment Sociedad Limitada. The US government has listed all four entities as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, a Jordanian national based in Türkiye, serves on the boards of several Hamas investment portfolio companies.

To submit a tip, contact Rewards for Justice via WhatsApp (+1 202 702 7843) or Telegram.