UN cash app for Gazans exploited by Hamas as terror group steals aid money meant for civilians

United Nations agencies' monthly currency transfers to Gaza residents are inadvertently strengthening the Hamas violent organization, arsenic the radical and affiliated traders proceed to power the wealth travel to the enclave, an adept connected Hamas' fiscal and economical operations said.

"Hamas exploits its relation arsenic the de facto ruler of Gaza to extract fiscal gains from assistance wealth sent by U.N. organizations to civilians via apps inactive operating successful the region," Eyal Ofer told Fox News Digital.

"The assistance strategy is being manipulated by Hamas and affiliated traders. Hamas does this mostly down the scenes, leveraging their power implicit ample merchants, transgression families, and utilizing currency to found a shadiness banking strategy wrong Gaza."

HOW ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERRORISTS WILL BE DIFFERENT UNDER TRUMP

Gazans astatine a bazaar acceptable up to conscionable their basal needs amidst the rubble successful the heavy damaged Jabalia exile campy successful bluish Gaza connected the 3rd time of Ramadan, aft Israel halted humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, connected March 3, 2025.  (Mahmoud Issa/Anadolu via Getty Images))

Each month, planetary organizations nonstop important sums into Gaza's economy. The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) transfers astir $18.43 million, reaching 82,636 families, with each household receiving an mean of $209, according to open-source data. UNICEF’s monthly assistance averages $5 million, helping to scope astatine slightest 20,000 families each month. 

"I spell to the marketplace and conscionable radical whose occupation is to supply currency successful speech for a fee," Gaza nonmigratory Shahab Yousef told Israel's quality bureau TPS-IL. "The interest is 20–30%. If I transportation 1,000 shekels [$271] I get backmost 700 [$190]," helium said. "For large purchases, I wage digitally. But astatine the market, I request cash, and I suffer 30 percent each time."

Another Gaza resident, Nidal Qawasmeh, expressed akin vexation to TPS-IL. "These radical are charging 30 percent conscionable to springiness you cash. I conscionable privation to instrumentality attraction of my family, but everything costs maine much due to the fact that of this. Prices are insane."

The circumstantial magnitude received per household each period is astir $270 (or 1,000 New Israeli Shekels), which was calculated arsenic 80% of the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket, UNICEF told Fox News Digital. Smaller organizations similar UNFPA and others besides contribute, bringing the full to astir $39.66 cardinal per month, reaching 60% of Gaza’s households, according to open-data sources.

A antheral holds a wad of Israeli shekels successful Gaza. (Majdi Fathi/TPS)

Despite the standard of nonstop fiscal aid, which reaches implicit fractional of the enclave's population, Gaza’s terrible nutrient insecurity and precocious ostentation (91% and 118%, respectively, arsenic of January 2024) underscore its importance. However, the mode this wealth circulates wrong Gaza is acold much complex. "Hamas controls much of the currency that enters Gaza done assorted channels," Ofer told Fox News Digital, "People who person wealth via mobile apps indispensable person it into currency to usage successful section markets, but this involves hefty fees, with galore wealth changers tied to Hamas oregon its allies."

TPS-IL reported that Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar precocious warned that Hamas’s economical spot successful Gaza relies connected billions of shekels successful cash, paid arsenic salaries and rapidly reclaimed done taxes connected merchants. In a missive to Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron, Sa’ar urged the cancelation of the circulation of 200-shekel bills antecedently introduced into Gaza, saying that experts judge the determination would severely harm Hamas’s fiscal network. The Bank of Israel rejected the proposal, citing method reasons and claiming that implementation was not feasible.

Ofer's probe recovered that the fees tin scope from 20% to 35%, meaning recipients suffer a important information of their assistance conscionable to entree it. "In videos from Gaza, you tin spot traders refusing to judge app funds and forcing customers to person them into cash, knowing they volition suffer astatine slightest 20% successful the process," helium said.

Peter Gallo, an planetary lawyer and erstwhile Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) researcher astatine the U.N., told Fox News Digital, "If an researcher successful Israel tin fig it out, the assistance agencies either knew oregon should person known. Twenty to 30 percent is conscionable ridiculous. That’s extortion. It’s what immoderate person politely described arsenic a ‘revolutionary tax.’ In fairness, the assistance agencies mightiness reason they had nary alternative, It is the outgo of doing business, but it would person been amended if they were honorable astir it from the start."

HAMAS TERROR GROUP REPORTEDLY BUCKLING UNDER FINANCIAL STRAIN AMID ISRAELI MILITARY GAINS AND GROWING UNREST

Palestinians store for nutrient and apparel astatine the section bazaar arsenic regular beingness continues successful the shadiness of warfare successful Jabalia, Gaza, connected January 15, 2024. (Photo by Mahmoud Shalha/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Photo by Mahmoud Shalha/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A spokesperson for UNICEF told Fox News Digital, "UNICEF is alert of the currency liquidity situation successful Gaza and the continuous shortage of hard cash, which is simply a nonstop effect of the banking system’s inability to relation amid the ongoing conflict.

"Since May 2024, UNICEF has introduced afloat integer currency payments via e-wallets, which bash not necessitate hard currency astatine immoderate point. By utilizing e-wallets, recipients of humanitarian integer currency transfers tin acquisition goods specified arsenic food, hygiene items and medicine without ever handling carnal money," the spokesperson said.

"The usage of integer e-wallets tin beryllium accessed done an app and works connected the astir basal smartphones. When implemented, these integer currency payments via e-wallets destruct the request for currency conversion and, consequently, the outgo of immoderate fees. The UNICEF humanitarian integer currency programme adheres to the highest standards of neutrality and impartiality. No outer party, actor, oregon agency—not adjacent the beneficiaries themselves—has immoderate relation oregon power successful the plan oregon implementation of the program, including the creation of the beneficiary list, outgo schedule, frequence and amounts."

World Food Programme (WFP) assistance astatine the Erez westbound crossing connected the Israel-Gaza border. (IDF spokesman)

The spokesperson claimed: "More than 1.8 cardinal people—close to the full colonisation of Gaza—are grappling with utmost nutrient insecurity, with astatine slightest fractional of them being children. . . . Acute malnutrition among children is rising astatine alarming rates. The UNICEF humanitarian currency transportation programme is, simply put, keeping children live successful the midst of a warfare not of their making by providing them with entree to indispensable items for their survival. UNICEF’s monthly fund for humanitarian currency transfers successful Gaza averages USD 5 cardinal to enactment astir 20,000 families. We estimation that these parameters are excessively tiny to importantly interaction the section economy."

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The World Food Programme didn’t respond to aggregate requests for comment.

"Turning a unsighted oculus is not acceptable. The U.N. Security Council has been addressing violent financing since 2001, yet assistance agencies proceed to disregard the information that Hamas is making a nett disconnected this wealth flow, contempt planetary efforts to halt violent financing," Gallo said.