Senior Hamas officials are reportedly living in luxury in Qatar while conditions in the Gaza Strip deteriorate after more than 700 days of conflict. Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’s political bureau abroad, and Mousa Abu Marzook are said to have a combined net worth exceeding $3 billion (£2.2 billion), according to the Israeli Embassy in the United States.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported in July that nearly 12,000 children under five suffer from severe malnutrition in Gaza, where conditions have long been described as catastrophic. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 64,656 people and wounded 163,503 since October 2023, with thousands more believed to be under the rubble.
Israel's list of alleged war crimes includes the starvation of Gaza's civilians, failure to protect them during military operations, and wanton destruction of towns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister face arrest warrants for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court, which they deny.
Even before Hamas’s October 7 terror attack on Israel, half of Gaza’s population relied on UN food aid. Since then, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has warned that more than half a million people face an “entirely man-made” famine. Israel denies these claims, accusing Hamas of diverting aid.
The Israeli Embassy estimates Hamas’s annual revenue at $1 billion (£739 million), making it the second wealthiest terror group after ISIS. Hamas has ruled Gaza without elections since 2006, and its leadership is accused of channelling funds into tunnel-building and armaments instead of essential infrastructure like water wells.
German newspaper Bild reports several Hamas officials have grown wealthy, including Mashal, Marzook, Younis Qafisheh, and Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in July 2024. Haniyeh, believed to be the richest, lived lavishly in hotels in Qatar and Turkey and travelled by private jet. His sons flaunt wealth on social media.
