Hamas collects about $100 million a year from Iran and roughly $600 million a year in taxes in Gaza, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The report noted that Israel’s military operation in Gaza has deprived Hamas of the tax funds, its biggest source of funding and as a result, foreign funding, including from charities, is now critical for the group, Western officials said.
Israel and the US are at odds, however, over which charities are linked to Hamas and which are funding purely humanitarian work in Gaza. One example cited by The Wall Street Journal is Michigan-based LaunchGood, a nonprofit that crowdsources funding for some of the largest Muslim charities in the world. Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing lists a number of fundraising campaigns hosted by LaunchGood which Israel says are tied to Hamas.
The US hasn’t taken action against any of the campaigns or charities on the fundraising platform. LaunchGood, which disputes Israel’s allegations, said it has established a vigorous compliance program in part because of the special scrutiny that Islamic groups have come under in the US.
As for Iran, it has long been known that it is one of the main benefactors of Hamas and has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the group and its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
After years of strained ties, the relations appeared to have improved in 2017, when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh thanked Iran for its "unlimited" support for the Al-Qassam Brigades and its contribution to the development of Hamas' military capabilities.
Former Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was eliminated in Lebanon not too long ago, made several visits to Iran in recent years in which he met with senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, another indication that the rift is over.