Four sham charities have been directly funding Hamas’s so-called military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported last Thursday.
One of the key ways Hamas raises overseas funds is through a network of nonprofit organizations that channel assets to local charities in Gaza. Three of the designated charities: Ghazi Destek Dernegi (GDD), Hayat Yolu, and the Palestinian White Hands Assistance and Solidarity Association (Palestinian White Hands) are Turkey-based nonprofits that provided support to Hamas in this way, the Treasury said.
Hayat Yolu is also an operational headquarters and a banking and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood.
The fourth designated charity is Indonesia-based Komite Nasional Untuk Rakyat Palestina (KNRP). Internal Hamas documents revealed that it funded charitable projects in Gaza from which Hamas directly benefited, the Treasury reported. For example, it coordinated with Hamas to fund and distribute material destined exclusively for its terrorists.
“Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims, and we will continue to target these networks wherever they operate,” he said.
The designation was taken pursuant to the counterterrorism sanctions authority, Executive Order 13224. Hamas has been designated in the US since October 31, 2001.
From this point onward, all property and interests in property of the designated groups are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Unless authorized by OFAC, US persons or groups within, or transiting, the US are banned from transacting with the designated groups.
US designates at least 30 charities for funding Hamas
So far, the US has designated at least 30 charities for their role in funding Hamas.
At the end of January, OFAC sanctioned Waed Society Gaza, Al-Nur Society Gaza, Qawafil Society Gaza, Al-Falah Society Gaza, Merciful Hands Gaza, and Al-Salameh Society Gaza, which had been “integrated into Hamas’s military wing,” it said.
“The Trump administration will not look the other way while Hamas leadership and enablers exploit the financial system to fund terrorist operations,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said at the time.