Hamas is battling a severe cash shortage in Gaza, struggling to pay its terrorists and officials as Israel's military operations and blockade strangle its funding sources, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As Israel cut off humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip last month, it eliminated a key source of funds Hamas had been seizing and selling. Arab intelligence officials told the Wall Street Journal that Israeli targeting of Hamas money handlers has disrupted the terror group's ability to distribute cash, while forcing others into hiding.
The financial squeeze has had immediate effects, with salary payments stopping completely, while senior Hamas terrorists and political staff began receiving only about half their pay during the middle of last month's Ramadan. The officials noted that rank-and-file Hamas terrorists had been earning approximately $200 to $300 monthly before the cutbacks.
Before the war began, Hamas received monthly cash transfers of $15 million from Qatar and had accumulated roughly $500 million in reserves, much stored in Turkey, according to Western and Arab officials. When the war started, Israel restricted physical cash transfers into Gaza, forcing Hamas to develop alternatives.
Early in the conflict, Hamas seized approximately $180 million from the Bank of Palestine and other financial institutions, according to current and former Palestinian officials. The terror group subsequently established new revenue streams by taxing merchants, collecting customs at checkpoints, and commandeering humanitarian goods for resale, Arab, Israeli, and Western officials said.
Despite these workarounds, Hamas was approaching a liquidity crisis before January's ceasefire brought an influx of aid, temporarily alleviating the pressure. However, these financial pathways closed when Israel sealed Gaza's borders to humanitarian supplies in March.
"There is a big crisis in Hamas in terms of getting the money," Moumen Al-Natour, a Palestinian lawyer from the Al-Shati refugee camp in central Gaza, told the Wall Street Journal. Al-Natour, who has participated in a growing opposition movement to Hamas' rule, added: "They were mainly dependent on humanitarian aid sold in black markets for cash."
