Haaretz: The Islamic Republic Smuggled Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Gaza

The Israeli publication "Haaretz" reported on Tuesday, October 23, on the role of the Islamic Republic in financially supporting the Palestinian organization Hamas. According to Haaretz, documents discovered by the Israeli army in Gaza indicate that the financial aid sent to Hamas is much greater than previously thought, as Tehran and the group, which is labeled as terrorist by countries like the United States, utilized a complex three-way method. The report states that due to the importance of the documents discovered by Hamas in Gaza, a special unit of the Israeli army is currently examining them in collaboration with security agencies. Haaretz mentions that prior to the terrorist attack on October 7 (15 Mehr), there was awareness regarding the foreign financial sources of this terrorist group. The report states that a representative from Qatar brings three million dollars monthly to Gaza via suitcase, and later this aid is transferred through Egyptian banks to banks in the region. According to Haaretz, Hamas utilized various methods to seize parts of the financial aid to Gaza, using them for purchasing weapons abroad, producing armaments, and establishing its own network of secret tunnels in the area. The report indicates that following the terrorist attack on October 7 and the subsequent discovery of Hamas documents in Gaza by the Israeli army, new facts emerged regarding the significant financial contributions of the Islamic Republic to this Palestinian group. Haaretz states that in recent years, the Islamic Republic has smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid for Hamas to Gaza through cryptocurrencies or complex banking transactions. The publication notes that this financial aid was directly placed in the hands of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of this Palestinian group in Gaza, who decided how to utilize it. Haaretz writes that although it is said that Hamas is less corrupt than the Palestinian Authority, documents show that Yahya Sinwar allocated a significant portion of the financial aid to his relatives, acquaintances, and close friends. The report states that the Islamic Republic sent its financial aid to Hamas in various ways, including transferring money via suitcase through underground tunnels in the Sinai Desert, or sending cryptocurrencies through digital currency centers in Tehran to Gaza. According to Haaretz, this financial aid was also conducted through complex transactions by international and local banks operating in Gaza that collaborated in this money smuggling with Hamas. These banks transferred funds that had been moved multiple times between different accounts and banks to make it difficult to identify their original sources to Gaza for Hamas. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, announced on Monday that at least half a billion dollars in cash and gold provided by the Iranian government to Hezbollah was stored in one of Hassan Nasrallah's shelters beneath the "Al-Sahil" hospital in the heart of Beirut. Hagari clarified that Hezbollah intentionally built this shelter beneath a hospital and that this money could have been and can still be used for the reconstruction of Lebanon. The spokesperson for the Israeli army stated that the Iranian government supports this group through the transfer of oil and money by the Quds Force to Syria, direct money transfers by airplane to Lebanon, and supporting Hezbollah's economic projects, including gas exports and establishing factories in some regional countries. The spokesperson emphasized that attacks on Hezbollah's financial positions throughout Lebanon would continue. He also confirmed the deadly Israeli attack on a financial arm of Hezbollah in Syria on Monday, stating that the individual was responsible for transferring cash from Iran to Hezbollah. Hagari did not name this Hezbollah member but mentioned he was appointed to this position following the killing of the previous head of this Hezbollah arm weeks earlier. This report was compiled using information from Haaretz and Voice of America.