Security officials say Hamas is exploiting the significant increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza to exert control over the population and to finance terrorism, according to a report by Kan Reshet Bet.
According to the report, the security establishment assesses that Hamas currently controls warehouses, distribution points, and markets, as well as tax collection and the extortion of protection money from business owners. The funds generated are used by the terror organization to recruit additional operatives and to rebuild its mechanisms that were damaged during the war.
At the same time, Hamas is intensifying pressure on the civilian population, including abuse, intimidation, and repression.
Security officials stress that the rehabilitation of Hamas’s civilian governance mechanisms is advancing rapidly and is at least as troubling as the military threat posed by the terror organization.
In Israel, a process has begun to revoke operating licenses from international organizations working in Israel, Judea and Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, after some refused to submit employee lists and cooperate with a security registration process mandated by law.
Following the implementation of the registration mechanism for international organizations operating in Gaza, the activities of 37 organizations were revoked. Israeli officials emphasize that these organizations together transferred less than one percent of the total humanitarian aid throughout the war, and that the overall scope of aid will not be affected by the decision.
The security establishment clarifies that the new registration process is based on clear professional and security criteria, was presented to the organizations in advance, and is intended to safeguard the integrity of the humanitarian system and prevent the infiltration of terror elements. According to officials, since the outbreak of the war, dozens of terrorists operating under the guise of international organizations have been eliminated-using marked vehicles, humanitarian warehouses, and civilian infrastructure.
Security checks revealed that employees of the organization Doctors Without Borders were involved in terrorist activity. In two major cases, the organization refrained from providing full information about the identities and roles of its employees. In June 2024, an Islamic Jihad terrorist involved in the rocket array, who was employed by the organization as a physiotherapist, was eliminated. In September, another employee was exposed-a terrorist who served as a sniper for Hamas.