$1.7 million raised in scheme for Hamas, including from U.S. donors, prosecutors say

Key Points:

• Federal prosecutors allege that Saleem Alzaq, a Hamas member from Gaza, helped funnel over $1.7 million to Hamas through fundraising campaigns disguised as humanitarian aid efforts between 2020 and 2025, including at least $626,000 from U.S. donors.
• Alzaq and co-conspirators operated an international network involving the U.S. and France, with specific contributions from individuals in Louisiana and Florida, raising funds purportedly for food and winter necessities but actually supporting Hamas activities.
• The indictment charges Alzaq with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, commit money laundering, and defraud the U.S., with potential sentences up to 20 years for most charges; Alzaq remains at large in Gaza.
• Evidence includes undercover communications where Alzaq used coded language to discuss transferring money to Hamas and advised donors to avoid mentioning Hamas or related slogans to prevent account closures.
• NYPD officials highlighted the case as exposing a sophisticated international finance network that disguised terror funding as humanitarian aid, implicating Alzaq as a leader in Hamas' military wing involved in terrorist planning.