Israeli forces seized cash and financial documents from an underground compound in Khan Yunis showing direct Iranian financial support for Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces disclosed on Tuesday night.
“We found official documents from 2020 detailing the funds transferred by Iran to Hamas between the years 2014 and 2020 and to [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahyah] Sinwar. More than $150 million were transferred from Iran to Hamas,” said IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
The intelligence indicated a “direct connection from Iran to Hamas—and more so to Yahya Sinwar,” he added.
The IDF released photos of envelopes of U.S. dollars, Israeli shekels and Jordanian dinars intended for Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 massacre.
“In the same subterranean space, we also found a safe with banknotes and bags containing more than 20 million shekels in cash. These amounts join tens of millions of shekels we located during the war in Hamas tunnels,” said Hagari.
“This is a recurring phenomenon—large sums of cash, kept in organized compounds underground for the personal use of senior Hamas officials. Hamas leaders invested the money in their personal survival and that of their families,” he added. “This is another example of how Iran exports terror across the Middle East. The terror that Iran exports and produces is a global problem.”
Hagari said the intelligence would be shared with international partners.
Cash confiscated from Gaza terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is transferred to the Israeli Defense Ministry’s finance division, where it is counted and then deposited in Israeli state coffers.
הכוחות המתמרנים ממשיכים לפשוט על יעדי טרור במרחבי רצועת עזה תוך תיאום עם כוחות חיל האוויר ולוחמי זרוע הים שתוקפים ומשמידים מטרות טרור ברצועה.
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לוחמי צוות הקרב של חטיבת הצנחנים הפועלים במערב חאן יונס, חיסלו עשרות מחבלים ביממה האחרונה>> pic.twitter.com/uEDojR6f1l
On Wednesday, the IDF said troops from the Paratroopers Brigade had killed dozens of terrorists in Khan Yunis over the past 24 hours.
In parallel, IDF troops operating in western Khan Yunis encountered three armed terrorists who launched anti-tank missiles at them. The troops killed the terrorists along with several others in close-quarters combat. Soldiers also conducted targeted raids on a terror compound, killing a number of terrorists and locating weapons and tunnel shafts.
Also on Wednesday, the Binyamin Regional Council confirmed reports that a soldier had died from a fungal infection contracted after being seriously wounded in Gaza.
The soldier was identified as Staff Sgt. (res.) Hanan Drori, 26, a resident of Psagot in Samaria.
Drori, survived by his parents and three siblings, was planning to get engaged upon being discharged from the military.
More than 220 IDF soldiers have been killed in action in Gaza since the launch of the ground offensive in late October.
