About 450 people with official roles in the Hamas terrorist group have links to Canada, a source familiar with intelligence on the matter told the country’s Global News on Wednesday.
The source, who spoke with Global News on the condition of not being identified, said the list was comprised of permanent residents living in Canada, as well as terrorists with family or associates in the country.
The list was also said to include Canadian citizens like Usama Ali, whom the site described as “an alleged Hamas operative, leader and financier.”
The list, which dates back to before the start of the Israel Defense Forces’ offensive against Hamas that was launched in the wake of the terrorist group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, also includes a “top leader” with links to Canada.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service confirmed to Global News it was probing Canadians in terror organizations, but refused to elaborate.
Ali allegedly sits on Hamas’s “executive team” and leads the terrorists’ financial operations. U.S. sanctions levied against him in 2022 say he used three Canadian passports and has led the Hamas Investment Office since 2017, managing some $500 million in terror assets.
Authorities allege that construction and real estate firms owned by Ali’s office covertly funded terror, including Hamas’s “military wing” in Gaza.
In 2019, Ali became a member of the Shura Council, a top body that elects Hamas leaders and shapes the terror organization’s strategy.
A second Canadian named in the article was Omar Alkassab, a Syrian-born resident of Winnipeg who came to Canada as a refugee in 2016.
Israeli security agencies seized a cryptocurrency wallet in 2022 that they alleged was connected to a Hamas-affiliated Gaza exchange, the Dubai Money Exchange. Israeli documents listed a Manitoba phone number and Winnipeg address for Alkassab. Accordingly, Canada opened an investigation and suspended Alkassab’s citizenship application.
The alleged terrorist has since filed a court case against the government for delaying his application, denying all connections to terrorist groups.
“Anyone who’s walked through a major Canadian city since Oct. 7 two years ago isn’t even blinking at this,” Melissa Lantsman, a Jewish member of the Canadian Parliament and deputy leader of the Conservative Party, wrote on Wednesday.
“What is shocking is a federal government that sees the warning lights flashing, and not only looks away, but in some cases practically cheers it on,” she stated.
On Nov. 17, Canada’s National Post reported that a Canadian national who tried to commit a terror attack near the Gaza border in July 2024 had recently been released from the Canadian military reserves.
Zachareah Quraishi, 21, was eliminated by Israeli security guards after ignoring warnings and charging at them with a knife near the entrance to the Gaza border community of Netiv Ha’asara on July 22, 2024.
Quraishi yelled “Free Palestine” as he carried out the attack just 12 days after he was released from the reserves, according to the National Post.
A spokesman for Canada’s Department of National Defense confirmed that Quraishi served with the Canadian Army reserve in Calgary and enrolled on July 17, 2023. He finished basic military qualification on Dec. 6, 2023. He was released on July 10, 2024, the spokesman said.
