As the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip enters its fourth month, the dilemma of supporting Palestinian factions remains pivotal for Tel Aviv.
In a new development on this front, the Israeli army has announced the discovery of direct links between Iran and Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas’ political bureau in the Gaza Strip.
The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, shared on his X platform Tuesday evening what he claimed to be part of intelligence information unearthed by army forces, indicating what he described as a direct relationship between Iran and Hamas in general, and between Iran and Yahya Sinwar specifically.
The documents indicated that the total amount is $154 million provided by Iran to Sinwar through the “Jerusalem Post” crew.
Dated back to 2020, the documents detail the funds transferred from Iran to Hamas between 2014 and 2020, according to the Israeli army.
The documents claim that Sinwar received $15 million, $48 million, $42 million, and $12 million in the years 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2020, respectively.
Furthermore, a video clip released by the Israeli army seemingly showed the discovery of some funds, a safe, and bags containing money allocated to the movement, according to Adraee.
It’s worth noting that US officials have long declared that Hamas receives weapons, training, and financial support from Iran.
A late last year American report shed light on attempts by both parties (Iran and Hamas) to evade traditional financial scrutiny, as the movement increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies for receiving and transferring funds from Iran.
The report added that this shift allowed Hamas and its affiliated groups, such as the Jihad Movement, to receive substantial amounts from Iran in the two years preceding October attacks on Israel, citing Israeli law enforcement officials.
To counter this new trend, the Israeli National Bureau for Combating Terrorism Financing (NBCTF) issued 7 orders since 2021 to seize cryptocurrencies held by exchange companies in Gaza with alleged links to Hamas.
