The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency have exposed what they describe as a secret Hamas money-exchange network operating in central Turkey ‘under Iran\u2019s direction,’ according to documents and statements released this week.<\/p>\n
According to the intelligence released by the IDF and ISA, exiled Gazans based in Turkey have used the country\u2019s financial infrastructure to move large sums of money for Hamas, with transfers totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
The agencies say the network operates in cooperation with the Iranian regime, transferring funds to Hamas and its senior officials and, according to Israel, helping the group rebuild its capabilities outside Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The newly exposed documents include records of currency transfers amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, which officials say represent only a small portion of the overall activity.<\/p>\n
According to the Israeli security agencies, the network receives, stores, and transfers Iranian funds from within Turkey.<\/p>\n
The IDF and ISA identified three Gazan operatives working in Turkey whom they say are central to the network: Tamer Hassan, described as a senior official in Hamas\u2019s finance office in Turkey operating directly under Khalil al-Hayya, and currency exchangers Khalil Farwana and Farid Abu Dair.<\/p>\n
Israel says Iran\u2019s backing has remained constant and that Hamas continues to rebuild its operational capabilities beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The timing of the IDF and ISA revelations comes amid an ongoing U.S. debate over Turkey\u2019s regional role and its relationship with Hamas. Fox News has previously reported that Turkey has hosted Hamas figures for years and has sought a leading role in postwar Gaza, even as the Trump administration weighs whether to allow Turkish troops to participate in a U.S.-backed stabilization mission.<\/p>\n
Sinan Ciddi, a Turkey expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Ankara\u2019s political protection of Hamas \u2014 paired with its hostility toward Israeli military actions \u2014 has created a permissive sanctuary that Israeli pressure alone cannot shut down. <\/p>\n
Ciddi argues the presence of Turkish-based operatives shows how Hamas has diversified its financial footprint to evade sanctions and border controls. Ciddi added that for Israel, ‘this is not just a financial concern but a strategic warning signal’, arguing that Iran is embedding itself deeper into Turkey\u2019s economic ecosystem and enabling a regional proxy to regenerate and project forces. If left unchecked, he warned, ‘the network could fuel future attacks and expand Hamas\u2019s influence across the region, undermining Israel\u2019s war aims and long-term security.’<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of ‘Erdo\u011fan\u2019s War: A Strongman\u2019s Struggle at Home and in Syria,’ said Turkey\u2019s aggressive Gaza posture is deeply tied to Erdo\u011fan\u2019s domestic political survival and his longstanding support for Islamist movements across the region.<\/p>\n
‘The primary goal there is domestic politics,’ she said. ‘Erdo\u011fan has always framed himself as the champion of the Palestinian cause, and by his most conservative constituency, he\u2019s often pushed to take a strong stance against Israel.’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
But Tol noted that Erdo\u011fan has also been pragmatic behind the scenes, particularly in his dealings with Washington. ‘People in his circle say the Hamas leadership had been asked to leave Turkey quietly. They are doing everything not to anger the Trump administration,’ she said.<\/p>\n
She added that Erdo\u011fan even pushed Hamas to accept Trump\u2019s Gaza proposal, noting that it included provisions that did not favor the organization.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials have long argued that Turkey\u2019s permissive environment has allowed Hamas to operate external networks, including financial arms backed by Iran, and say the newly released intelligence underscores the risks of allowing Turkey deeper involvement in Gaza\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
In announcing the findings, the IDF and ISA warned individuals and institutions against engaging with the exposed network or any other financial arms linked to Hamas, saying such interactions risk contributing to terrorist financing and aiding Hamas\u2019s attempts to reconstitute its infrastructure abroad.<\/p>\n
The Turkish Embassy did not respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency have exposed what they describe as a secret Hamas money-exchange network operating in central Turkey ‘under Iran\u2019s direction,’ according to documents and statements released this week. According to the intelligence released by the IDF and ISA, exiled Gazans based in Turkey have used the country\u2019s financial infrastructure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web3anchor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}