Israel: "Hamas Receives Funding from Iran via Cryptocurrency"

Palestinian armed faction Hamas has allegedly received large sums of money over two years from Iran using cryptocurrency, according to Israeli sources.

A rocket is being launched from Gaza Strip towards Israel. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time), citing current and former Israeli officials, that Hamas procured tens of millions of dollars from Iran in 2019 through Hawala (a traditional remittance system in Islamic cultures), and later converted these funds into digital currency to evade Israeli surveillance.

In 2021, Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) issued seven seizure orders on cryptocurrency funds held by three cryptocurrency exchanges within the Gaza Strip. The first targeted 47 accounts on Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, to seize cryptocurrency funds linked to Hamas-associated exchange 'Al Muhadathun.' NBCTF cited that these funds were owned by companies in Gaza or used to commit 'serious terrorist crimes.' NBCTF is also reported to have attempted to seize not only the cryptocurrency trading accounts of exchanges controlled by Hamas but also customers' accounts and digital wallets.

NBCTF officials are believed to consider a significant portion of the funds received by cryptocurrency exchanges in the Gaza Strip as intended for Hamas. Additionally, Israeli sources claim that Hamas sends funds through 'mixers,' a technology that frequently changes wallet addresses used daily by exchanges and breaks down and recombines cryptocurrencies to avoid fund tracing.

Israeli cryptocurrency analysis firm BitOK estimated that $41 million was deposited into cryptocurrency accounts identified by NBCTF as linked to Hamas, and $93 million was deposited into accounts believed to be connected to another Palestinian armed group, Islamic Jihad.

Israel views cryptocurrency as having become a major remittance method between Iran and Hamas within the Hawala system and an essential means for Hamas operations. Israel believes that in recent years, most of Iran's financial support for Hamas has been conducted through Hawala traders and financial service providers spread across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and T?rkiye. Hamas is known to have raised funds not only from Iran but also through global portfolio investments, charity fundraising, official foreign aid, and tax revenues within the Gaza Strip.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.