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Financing Terrorism

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (February 24-March 3, 2026)

IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to locate and destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure. The forces eliminated terrorist operatives who attempted to approach the forces and attacked in response to violations of the ceasefire agreement; Hamas reportedly smuggled essential materials by sea, enabling it to manufacture dozens of rockets; Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) condemned the Israeli-American war against Iran and the elimination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, but said they would not intervene due to the consequences of the Gaza Strip War. According to reports, the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist organizations fear complete collapse because of the economic pressure on Tehran; Israel closed the crossings to the Gaza Strip because of the state of emergency inside the country, but stressed that there was sufficient humanitarian aid in the Strip. Sharp price increases of basic commodities were reported in the markets of Gaza; The Turkish IHH said a flotilla of more than 100 vessels carrying thousands of activists was expected to depart in April 2026 for the Gaza Strip to "break the siege," along with the dispatch of land convoys; A member of the American mediation team said the administration was preparing a proposal for the "gradual disarmament" of Hamas, adding that employees in the Hamas administration would be integrated into the new governing mechanisms under the Palestinian technocrat committee for the management of the Gaza Strip; The secretary of the PLO Executive Committee said he opposed disarming Hamas or designating it as a terrorist organization, calling the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre a "strategic mistake" [sic].
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (February 23 – March 2, 2026)

On the night of March 1, 2026, Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, announcing that it was a response to the elimination of Iran's leader Khamenei and to the Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The IDF responded by attacking Hezbollah targets and the elimination of senior figures in the organization in south Lebanon and the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut; In response to the rocket fire, the Lebanese government banned Hezbollah's military and security activities and limited it to politics. Prime Minister Salam instructed the army to accelerate the disarmament of Hezbollah north of the Litani River "by all means." Reportedly, Speaker of Parliament Berri is preparing to remove political cover from Hezbollah because of the rocket fire; Before Hezbollah entered the war, it condemned the Israeli and American strikes in Iran and the elimination of Khamenei but did not explicitly say it would attack Israel. The Lebanese leadership tried to persuade Hezbollah not to intervene in the Israel-America war on Iran out of concern of a broad Israeli response against Lebanon; Before the war broke out on February 28, 2026, the IDF continued attacks in south Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah's military assets as part of the effort to enforce the November 2024 ceasefire agreement and prevent the organization's renewed military buildup and possible preparations to attack Israel. The IDF attacked Radwan Force camps, launch positions and tunnels; Due to the regional developments, the conference in support of the Lebanese army scheduled to convene in Paris on March 5, 2026 will be postponed to April 2026; Reportedly, the former head of Hezbollah's coordination and liaison unit, Wafiq Safa, was appointed assistant to the head of the political council. 
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (February 17-24, 2026)

IDF forces continued activity within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to locate and destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure. An IDF soldier was killed by friendly fire in the south of the Strip; It was reported that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was dissatisfied with Hamas’ appointment of new police commanders who had ties to the military wing; According to Hamas sources, the movement was preparing to announce the new chairman of the political bureau, either Khaled Mashaal or Khalil al-Hayya, and the candidate selected would hold the position for one year only; The American-led Board of Peace held its first meeting, during which promises for economic assistance worth tens of billions of dollars and for assistance in reconstructing the Strip were reported. Indonesia is expected to send 8,000 soldiers to participate in the international stabilization force; The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza issued a notice recruiting police officers for the new order-keeping force and thousands of applications were reportedly received; The Palestinian Authority established a liaison office which would operate with the high commissioner for the Gaza Strip on behalf of the Board of Peace.
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Iran Efforts to Circumvent the Sanctions by Smuggling Oil

Iran’s security forces, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, use the sale of oil to finance their activities and those of their proxy terrorist organizations in the Middle East; In September 2025, the UN Security Council activated the snapback mechanism, which reinstated the sanctions which had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear agreement because of Tehran’s failure to meet its international obligations following the Iran-Israel War and the strike on its nuclear facilities; In an attempt to circumvent American and international sanctions, Iran operates a complex network of intermediaries, front companies and a ghost fleet of oil tankers. At the center stands Sepehr Energy Jahan, which serves as a front company for Iran’s armed forces and has been under American sanctions since November 2023; A cyberattack on the company’s servers and a massive leak of internal documents provided evidence of how Sepehr Energy Jahan conducts its illegal activity, exposing a long list of participating front companies, oil tankers and business partners. The documents also show that China remains Iran’s primary oil consumer despite international sanctions; In ITIC assessment, until the mechanisms activating the snapback restrictions go into effect, Iran will advance covert sanction-evasion activity, within which Sepehr Energy Jahan and its CEO Majid Azami play a central role, while continuing its prohibited business relationship with governmental elements in China.
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Hamas Media as Reflected in Documents Brought Back from the Gaza Strip

Hamas' media system is an extensive network which integrates overt and covert, formal and informal communication channels and targets diverse audiences. It serves as a propaganda and incitement tool in Hamas' battle for hearts and minds; Hamas documents brought back by the IDF during the Gaza Strip War showed that Hamas exercises full control, administratively, financially and strategically over its affiliated media outlets in terms of content and messaging, although such bodies are represented as independent, allowing Hamas to maneuver communicationally, diplomatically and militarily; The documents revealed that Hamas' media activity was based on an orderly, multi-year master program divided into 25 projects, each with quantifiable objectives, content production quotas, timetables and resource allocations; An important element of the program was a propaganda campaign to sabotage Israel's resilience by disseminating fake news, funding targeted advertisements for audiences in Israel, operating satirical pages to mock Israeli leaders and symbols, sowing doubts to demoralize the Israeli public; Hamas invests considerable resources in shaping an English-language narrative tailored to the West to mobilize legitimacy for the "resistance"  and to defame and demonize the State of Israel; Internal audits reveal that Hamas' media outlets suffer from deficits, bad debts and poor asset management. The findings indicate absolute dependence on the transfer of funds from Hamas' coffers, including via Turkey; In ITIC assessment, the documents show that the affiliated media are at the core of Hamas' battle for hearts and minds, and make the information department particularly important in formulating media policy and managing all the media institutions operating in the service of Hamas, including those the organization does not define as officially affiliated with it.
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Hamas Deploys to Recover and Retain Its Military Strength and Influence over the Gaza Strip

According to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Hamas will transfer authority in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian technocrat committee, and the movement and all other armed terrorist organizations will disarm. In practice, the start of the new administration committee's practical activity has been delayed. It has not yet entered the Strip and Hamas is exploiting its absence to consolidate its civilian and security governance, accompanied by a public refusal to disarm the "resistance"; The Israeli security establishment has said that since the ceasefire went into effect in October 2025, Hamas has accelerated its economic and military buildup. It is relying on locally produced weapons and smuggling weapons from Egypt using UAVs, and filling its coffers by taxing the entry of humanitarian aid trucks and smuggling cigarettes and other goods, which generate millions of shekels in revenue. In addition, thousands of new operatives have been recruited and trained and infrastructures serving security needs have been rehabilitated; In ITIC assessment, although Hamas ostensibly claims it is prepared to relinquish control in favor of the new technocrat administration dictated by the United States and the mediators, it is building a network which will enable it to remain significant and an influential power factor on "the day after" and do everything in its power complicate its disarmament. To that end, it is strengthening its military arrays by producing and smuggling weapons, recruiting and training new operatives and renewing its facilities, some of which operate in civilian buildings. It is also integrating its operatives into the civilian mechanisms and security forces of the technocrat committee. In addition, a future opening of the Rafah Crossing for the transfer of goods will in all probability again make it possible for Hamas to smuggle in materials to assist its military reconstruction. As long as nothing is done to halt Hamas' military buildup and disarm the movement along with the establishment of an effective alternative administration in the Gaza Strip which has active international support and no Hamas personnel, the movement will remain an active threat to IDF forces and to the State of Israel.
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Financing Terrorism

A terrorist organization must have sources of financing to finance and carry out all of its activity and goals. Without financing sources, it will be difficult for the organization to exist and carry out its goals. Without financing, the organization will not be able to handle, support and equip its operatives, and prepare and maintain a reasonable infrastructure for its activity.

Terrorist financing can be divided into two main goals: financing a focused act of terrorism with a clear goal. In this case, the financing activity will be limited in scope, amount and time. The other type of goal is a broader goal of establishing, maintaining, and cultivating the terrorist infrastructure, organizational structure, purchasing, ongoing expenses, payment of salaries and more. In this case, the financing activity is not limited in time, ceiling or financial scope.

Most of the money for terrorism financing comes from terror-sponsoring countries, among which Iran is prominent (and is involved in the financing of terrorism carried out by Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad). Terrorist organizations have additional sources of financing, such as revenues from criminal activity (Hezbollah), the sale of oil products, and the collection of taxes from the population (ISIS). Other organizations finance terrorism with funds obtained from sources such as donations, charities, commercial profits, etc., which were diverted to terrorism financing.

In recent years there has been growing recognition of the importance of thwarting terrorist financing channels as part of the effort to thwart terrorist activity. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the international struggle against terror financing gained momentum, and it was decided to integrate the international struggle against terrorism into the struggle against terrorism financing and even to streamline it through legislation and counterterrorism activities. However, as the struggle against terrorism financing increases, the methods of terrorism financing become more sophisticated and diverse, making it more difficult to monitor the sources of terrorism financing and to cope with them.