Hamas acknowledges ‘NGO fundraiser’ killed by IDF as one of its own

Hamas admitted that Wissam Taha, who was killed in an Israeli Defense Forces strike on Sunday, was a member of their organization. Taha presented himself abroad as a fundraiser for “sustainable development” NGOs.

Taha represented two Lebanon-based NGOs: Ghirass for Society Development and Jeel Sustainable Development. The two groups appear to be legitimate.

However, a Hamas source told the AFP news agency “on condition of anonymity " that Taha was “an official” from the terrorist group.

UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer brought attention to Hamas’s admission. “Hamas just told AFP that Wissam Taha, who raised donations worldwide for a ‘sustainable development’ NGO in Lebanon, was one of their officials. He was eliminated today by an IDF strike on his apartment in Sidon. His bro is close to UNRWA,” Neuer wrote on social media.

According to UN Watch, Taha’s brother Jihad Taha is a senior Hamas leader and its international spokesperson, serving as the main public representative of Hamas in Lebanon.

He frequently appears in global media to discuss developments such as leadership decisions (including the selection as chief of Yahya Sinwar after Ismail Haniyeh’s death) and ceasefire negotiations.

On World Refugee Day in June 2024, he said that Palestinians would not compromise on the right of “refugees” to return to their homes and would continue resistance “until they seize all their rights and end the fascist Zionist occupation,” i.e. destroy Israel.