In an effort to evade traditional financial oversight, Hamas has increasingly relied on cryptocurrency for fund transfers, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The shift towards crypto came after an Israeli air strike in mid-2019, which targeted a Hamas commander known for being Iran’s financial conduit in Gaza. This attack disrupted Hamas’ cash-based and off-the-books remittance system.
The replacement for the slain commander, Zuhair Shamlakh, adopted a more modern financial strategy. He began using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) to settle financial balances, allowing Hamas and its affiliates, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to receive substantial sums from Iran in the two years leading up to the October attacks on Israel. Israeli law-enforcement officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal revealed that these transactions amounted to significant amounts.
To combat this new trend, Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) has issued seven orders since 2021 to seize cryptocurrency held by Gaza-based money exchanges with alleged links to Hamas. The NBCTF reports that crypto wallets associated with these exchanges received significant funds, with $41 million traced to two orders connected to Gazan currency exchanges and an additional $93 million linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
