Corrupt to the core
IDF Spokesman: Hamas Demanded Rent on Tents During Storm "Byron"
Pictures of Gaza during Storm "Byron" last week caused renewed anti-Israel sentiment online and around the world. IDF Arabic Spokesman Avichai Adraee released documents showing that Hamas demanded rent from civilians to stay in tents on the beach during the storm.
Hamas is forcing displaced Gazans whose homes were destroyed in the war to pay rent to live in makeshift tents along the coast, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee said last week.
According to Adraee, residents of al-Qarara, a municipality north of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, were ordered to pay large sums to Hamas in exchange for permission to erect tents on the beach. In a post on social media, Adraee shared an image obtained by the IDF of a message allegedly sent by Hamas authorities outlining the payment demands.
Residents were reportedly given one week to complete the required procedures and submit payment. Adraee said Hamas operatives are enforcing the policy both inside displacement camps and along the coastline, demanding what he described as “rent” from families who have already lost their homes.
“The Hamas that caused a flood of destruction in the Gaza Strip, and seized homes, lands, and entire neighborhoods for its terrorist purposes, is the same Hamas that now demands that residents pay large sums in compensation for the damage it caused,” Adraee said. “It’s a simple story. Hamas caused the destruction of homes and the displacement of people, and now it demands money from those harmed by its actions.”
The allegations surfaced amid Storm Byron, which brought heavy rain and flooding to parts of Gaza last week, worsening conditions for displaced civilians living in temporary shelters. Adraee accused Hamas’s leadership of exploiting the humanitarian crisis rather than addressing it, saying the group continues to impose “unreasonable payment demands” on vulnerable residents.
In a separate Hebrew-language statement, Adraee said the demands were made under pressure and amounted to forced payments, adding that Hamas had taken over homes, land, and entire neighborhoods during the war and was now profiting from the displacement it caused.
Hamas has not publicly responded to the claims.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas, including displacement camps, and of diverting resources intended for Gaza’s civilian population for its own use. Israeli officials say such practices demonstrate that Hamas’s control of Gaza prioritizes the group’s interests over the welfare of local residents, even amid worsening humanitarian conditions.