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Ad Hoc Studies

International activity against Hamas since the outbreak of Operation Iron Swords

Not only Israel, but the United States, the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia had designated Hamas as a terrorist organization even before Operation Iron Swords began on October 7, 2023. New Zealand and Paraguay designated only the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, as a terrorist organization, while Japan designates Hamas as a terrorist organization only regarding freezing its assets. Since the beginning of the war, Switzerland announced its intention to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. Since the beginning of the war, some countries have taken practical steps against Hamas. The United States imposed two rounds of sanctions on a currency exchange network which helped finance Hamas activities, on Iranian aid to Hamas, and on companies linked to Hamas' asset portfolio. Germany announced a complete ban on the activities of Hamas and its related organizations, and Japan imposed sanctions on a currency-exchange network that served Hamas.
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The price Gazans pay for criticizing Hamas

Since the beginning of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, and especially since the entry of IDF forces, the pressure on the civilian residents of the Gaza Strip has increased significantly. They are trying to cope with the price they have been forced to pay and to internalize the extent of the destruction caused by the IDF’s massive attacks. A significant part of the public was forced to leave their homes, either to shelters or to the south of the Gaza Strip, and the number of casualties increases daily. The majority of the public does not dare to openly criticize the Hamas leadership, it has recently become evident that the Gazans are slowly realizing that the Hamas leadership cares about itself and its image and does not care about the public’s situation or fate. Nevertheless, the continuation of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, the high level of casualties, the heavy damage to the infrastructure, the exposure of the use of the population by Hamas and other organizations as human shields and the weakness of Hamas, may lead the public in the Gaza Strip to understand the price of losing the war, and criticism may gain momentum and even reach public expressions from authorized and influential sources.
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Hamas use of the civilian population as human shields and Gaza’s civilian facilities for terrorism

For years, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have been using the local population as human shields and using civilian facilities for their military-terrorist purposes. The main objective of using civilians and civilian facilities is to protect military-terrorist operatives and keep them safe from IDF counterterrorism activities, knowing that IDF forces avoid harming civilians. This time as well, Hamas is waging the war in Gaza at the expense of local residents and has no concern for their safety. For example, Hamas has opened the hospitals in the Gaza Strip, where its military-terrorist headquarters and bases are located, to residents seeking refuge, making it difficult for the IDF forces to take action against Hamas. Hamas also steals the humanitarian aid and remaining fuel reserves that were designated for hospitals and the civilian population.
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Nasrallah announces escalation and calls for pressure on Israel

On November 11, 2023, Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech entitled "Life on the way to Jerusalem” for Martyr’s Day, marked by Hezbollah every year.He related to the war in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah’s activities, stating that recently Hezbollah had escalated its attacks on Israel by firing Katyushas rockets, launching Burkan rockets (equipped with a warhead of between half a ton and a ton) and a drone attack. He claimed he was following the “equation” he set out in his previous speech, according to which escalation in Lebanon or the Gaza Strip would lead to escalation from Hezbollah. He also noted the Arab-Iranian "support front" working against Israel. It was Nasrallah's second speech since the outbreak of the war. His first speech was preceded by a build-up of expectations and was broadcast by many media and in front of a large audience, and was extensively rehashed. This speech did not inspire much interest, started about half an hour late, was broadcast only on al-Manar TV and did not prompt reactions.
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Financing Terrorism: Currency Exchange in the Service of Hamas

The Hamas movement needs enormous sums of money to finance its terrorist activities. Because Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, and because the conventional global banking system does not operate in the Gaza Strip and is monitored by security bodies and state and international enforcement agencies, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip (and Iran) are forced to look for alternative methods to transfer funds to its coffers. The Hamas leadership, in collaboration with the Iranians, employ several channels to transfer the funds. They rely on traditional money changers, use Offset methods between Palestinian laborers and merchants for money changers, and use digital means such as virtually unregulated cryptocurrencies, which are transferred according to agreement by a mostly confidential network.
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In the shadow of the war, Iranian hostility toward Israel is growing while denying its existence

Since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, there has been a significant escalation in Iran’s hostility towards Israel while denying its existence. Hostility towards Israel is the central issue on which Iran’s policy has remained uncompromising and consistent.[1] Iran’s revolutionary ideology categorically rejects the existence of the State of Israel, which is epitomized in the slogan, “Israel must be wiped off the map.” Opposition to Israel is a central pillar of the Islamic regime’s revolutionary doctrine and policy, reflecting various revolutionary goals, including fundamental hostility to the Jewish state and hostility to Western imperialism, of which Israel is perceived as a representative.
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