Protesters march during a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. AP
As Israel pursues its military objective, undermining the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas's revenue streams will also prove a formidable task.
"Hamas is financially solid," Jessica Davis, president of the Canadian group Insight Threat Intelligence, told AFP.
"In the last decade, if not longer, they have been creating a resilient finance network," she said, explaining the group had set up investments and sources of income in many countries without being disrupted.
These sources include "small businesses and real estate" in countries such as Turkey, Sudan and Algeria, she added.
Hamas also relies on an informal network of donations.
It has become "very good at developing and operating a very complex system of money changers", said Yitzhak Gal, an Israeli expert on the Palestinian economy, explaining the exchanges run through Turkey, the UAE, Europe and the United States.
The number of donors has not decreased since October 7.
" Hamas seems to have gained support amongst certain population segments internationally as a perceived resistance vanguard," Lucas Webber, co-founder of the specialist website Militant Wire, explained.
Estimates put Iran's annual contribution at between $70 million and $100 million, through a diverse range of sources that includes payments in cryptocurrency, suitcases of cash and transfers via foreign banks and the informal "hawala" system.
Of the Gaza Strip's $2.5 billion budget, $1.1 billion comes from the Palestinian Authority, with Israel's agreement, said Gal, who is a specialist at the Mitvim think tank.
Qatar pays the salaries of civil servants, such as doctors and teachers, and gives $100 per month to the territory's 100,000 poorest families -- totalling $1.49 billion in payments between 2012 and 2021, according to Doha.
'One big refugee camp'
In 2021, the gas-rich emirate, which hosts the Hamas political bureau in its capital with the blessing of the United States, pledged $360 million in annual funding to the coastal Palestinian territory.
Doha has denied providing financial aid to Hamas.
"Without exception, all of Qatar's aid is fully coordinated with Israel, the US government and the United Nations," a Qatari official told AFP.
"All goods such as food, medicine and fuel pass directly through Israel before entering Gaza," they added.
Last week, Qatar's lead captives negotiator and diplomat, Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, indicated that the Gulf emirate's funding for Gaza would continue.
In October, Washington imposed sanctions on 10 "key members of Hamas", and the West is considering coercive measures. But cutting off Hamas completely will likely be impossible.
"The prospect of a long-term complete destruction of Hamas finances is not realistic," Davis said.
"You can disrupt it, you can take out key players, you can minimise sources of funds, but the network, the infrastructure will always be there and if the group still has supporters, they can be leveraged to help them," she added.
Gal explained Hamas' future finances would be linked to how the future of Gaza is resolved.
"Gaza is now one big refugee camp. Who will be in charge of providing food, water and shelter to these refugees, Hamas or another organisation, another mechanism?".
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