Hamas reaped hundreds of millions off Gaza aid

(JNS) — The Hamas terrorist organization has profited at least $500 million off humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on Oct. 7, according to a report that aired on Israel’s Channel 12 last week.

Veteran analyst Ehud Yaari, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the broadcaster on Thursday that, according to a calculation he made with “a friend—I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention his name,” Hamas earned “no less” than half a billion dollars from the aid.

“We provide [this] for them,” said the Arab affairs analyst, adding: “We need to start creating reality, instead of this fruitless discussion about what will happen the ‘day after’ [the war with Hamas ends].”

The Tzav 9 (“Order 9”) movement, which has led protests against Jerusalem’s decision to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Strip freely, said that while “the hostages are groaning in captivity, IDF soldiers are risking their lives and the children of the [Gaza] Envelope do not sleep at night,” the terror group “continues to exist and enjoy financial prosperity.”

“With a weak government and lax leadership, it is up to the entire nation to stand up so that this miserable and intolerable reality will end,” stated the organization. “No aid should go in until the last hostages return.”

The IDF has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the terror group launched a war against the Jewish state when it invaded southwestern Israel on Oct. 7, killing, wounding and capturing thousands of civilians and soldiers.

Despite the ongoing conflict, Israel has repeatedly stressed that “there are no limits on the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza.”

The volume of aid provided to the hostile territory has more than doubled since the start of the war, according to data provided by the government to Israel’s Supreme Court in response to a petition by left-wing groups.

According to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Hamas terrorists divert at least 60% of the goods entering Gaza for their own purposes.

A $320 million floating pier built by the United States military on the shore of the Gaza Strip became operational over the weekend, with trucks starting to deliver humanitarian supplies in large volumes.

The Israel Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit announced on Saturday that “hundreds of pallets of humanitarian aid” and some 160,000 liters of fuel entered via the pier.

Meanwhile, COGAT has approved the resumption of commercial trade with the Strip on Thursday, with truck deliveries starting the following morning, Israel’s Walla! News outlet reported on Sunday.

According to the report, 150 trucks loaded with produce from Israel—not aid—crossed into Gaza intended for merchants who purchased the produce “intended for Hamas members and the civilian population.”