لTel Aviv, Israel – The Israeli military announced in an official statement the killing of two individuals it described as key members of a complex Hamas financing network. The killings occurred during an attack targeting southern Gaza last Wednesday. The statement identified the two men as Hussein Qadra and Muhammad Farra, and indicated their direct ties to the military wing of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
Financial network details
According to the Israeli military’s account, Hussein Qadra was the head of this financial network. The statement indicated that Qadra, in collaboration with Farah and several other individuals, operated under the direct orders of Hamas leadership. Their mission was to manage large-scale money transfers.
According to Israeli estimates, this network successfully transferred over half a billion shekels—approximately $170 million—to Hamas’s military wing. To evade detection and prosecution, the network relied on a system of informal money transfers using dozens of couriers and currency exchangers. These couriers were distributed between locations in Turkey and within the Gaza Strip. This facilitated the transfer of these funds through unofficial channels.
Uses of funds and the field situation
The Israeli military stated that the funds transferred through this network were used for various purposes, primarily paying the salaries of Hamas members and fighters in its military wing. Additionally, the money was used to finance military operations targeting Israeli forces and civilians in conflict zones. This operation is part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to disrupt the funding networks of Palestinian armed groups. It falls within a broader strategy aimed at weakening the logistical and financial capabilities of the factions in the Gaza Strip.
In contrast, as of the time of writing this report, neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad has issued any independent comment or response regarding the claims made by the Israeli army, whether concerning the killing of these two individuals or regarding the nature and activities of the alleged financial network.
