Key Hamas Financier Killed in Israeli Air Strike

Jerusalem, 19 December, 2023 (TPS) -- A prominent Hamas financier involved in transferring tens of millions of dollars to the terror group was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

Subhi Ferwana, who together with his brother oversaw the financial transfers through their money exchange company, “Hamsat.” The company laundered and funneled money to Hamas for several years, the IDF said.

“Ferwana was one of the most prominent financiers and was able to transfer funds to Hamas’ military wing as required for war,” the IDF said.

“The funds were used – among other things – for intensification of military forces, the payment of terrorists’ salaries during the war, and to finance Hamas’ war activities,” the IDF added.

Ferwana was killed in Rafah, a Palestinian town on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Rafah and the 14 km Gaza-Egypt border is a politically sensitive area. The Rafah border crossing, through which humanitarian aid deliveries arrive, is located.

As the Tazpit Press Service recently reported, Hamas is pressuring Egypt by calling on Gazans to flee to Rafah, the town where the Rafah border crossing with Egypt is located. It is the only Gaza border crossing not controlled by Israel. The rising number of Palestinians in Rafah is increasing the pressure on Egypt to allow them to shelter in the Sinai.

But Cairo has been steadfast in its refusal to allow this, saying an influx of Palestinians would undermine Egyptian security in the Sinai. Egyptian officials warn that refugee camps in the Sinai or along the Gaza-Egypt border will become armed.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 129. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.