The Israeli military said on Sunday it had uncovered what it called an Iran-directed secret money-exchange network run by Gaza-born operatives in Turkey, alleging it funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas leadership.
The covert network was uncovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, the IDF Arabic spokesman said in a post on X citing internal Hamas documents.
According to Avichay Adraee, the network exploited Turkish financial infrastructure to move large sums of money earmarked for Hamas activities.
The Israeli spokesman added the Gaza-born exchangers worked “in full cooperation” with Iran, transferring what he said were hundreds of millions of dollars directly to Hamas and its senior commanders.
They said the network operated a wide economic portfolio inside Turkey, including receiving, storing and moving Iranian funds on behalf of the group.
The Islamic Republic has for years provided financial support to groups such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are designated as terrorist organizations by much of the international community.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains reaching Hezbollah despite international sanctions.
The newspaper cited Arab officials as saying that Iran routes money through UAE-based shell companies and hawala networks, or traditional means of transferring money that mostly skirt easy tracing. Hawala brokers in the UAE convert and move cash without creating bank records.
“Iran’s shadow banking system is a critical lifeline for the regime through which it accesses the proceeds from its oil sales, moves money, and funds its destabilizing activities,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in June.
"The system operates as a parallel banking system in which settlements are brokered through Iran-based exchange houses that use front companies outside of Iran, primarily located in Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE), to make or receive payments on behalf of sanctioned persons in Iran," the Treasury said.
'Hamas rebuilding capabilities with Iran's aid'
The Israeli military on Sunday published what it called documentation from inside the Iran-backed money network in Turkey showing a “small portion” of its transactions, with individual transfers allegedly reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The statement named three Gaza-origin figures said to be working as exchangers under Iranian direction in Turkey. Israel identified them as Tamer Hassan, described as a senior Hamas finance ministry official living in Turkey and working directly under senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya; and Khalil Faraouna and Farid Abu Dayr, both described as money-changers operating within the alleged network.
The IDF and Shin Bet said the revelations show Hamas, with Iranian backing, is seeking to rebuild its capabilities and promote plots against Israel even outside Gaza, despite the devastation of the enclave.
Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the Jewish state’s campaign sharply degraded Iran’s regional axis — killing senior Hamas and Hezbollah commanders, striking Iran-linked sites in Syria ahead of the collapse of Tehran’s key ally Bashar al-Assad, and joining the United States in targeting Houthi launch and command facilities in Yemen.
The cumulative blows have weakened the core groups that long anchored Tehran’s regional reach.
Hamas and Hezbollah are now quietly rebuilding their military capabilities amid a tense ceasefire with Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported last month, with both groups accusing Israel of violating truce agreements intended to end the two-year-old conflict.
