Palestinian sources revealed this week that members of a Gaza-based charity organization called Mobaderon are suspected of misusing donation funds raised from abroad during the war.
The organization included a group of social media influencers in Gaza who gained thousands of followers on social networks during the war. These activists collected donations from Palestinians living abroad and other sources, claiming they were assisting displaced persons with basic needs such as food supplies.
The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat now reports that Hamas' policing mechanism has begun summoning activists from the organization for interrogations, along with members of "other charity organizations." A source close to the investigation said the process would also focus on heads of other charity organizations that received significant donations from unknown sources and raised suspicions about the use of funds.
In this context, it should be noted that Hamas may be using corruption allegations as a pretext to seize control of those organizational funds – whether or not they misused the money. In any case, Gaza residents reported that several of the organization's activists displayed their "wealth" without concealing it.
"I used to receive a little aid from those young people (from Al-Mubadaron), but at the same time we saw them buying the best food for their families and relatives," a resident of the Khan Younis area said. According to her, she noticed that several activists bought themselves new smartphones and rented luxury SUVs.
A Gaza City resident who supports a family of 16 testified that he was surprised one day when he received a food carton from one of Al-Mubadaron's activists. According to him, the contents of his carton were simple, but later he noticed another food carton that had arrived for the activist's relative, containing different products.
Most of the activists in Al-Mubadaron refused to comment on the publication. One of them claimed that the accusations were unfair to them and that they acted transparently by documenting the distribution of food cartons. According to him, the purchase of the vehicles and phones was done "with the donors' knowledge" and was intended to "facilitate our work and document it."
