Israel Eliminates Top Hamas Money Man in Sidon
Shin Bet and IDF struck Wassam Taha in Sidon, Lebanon — the latest blow to Hamas's global fundraising network that finances terrorism and pays fighters' salaries.
The Shin Bet and IDF announced Sunday the elimination of Wassam Mustafa Hasan Taha, a senior operative in Hamas's financial procurement network, in a targeted strike in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
Taha operated under the direction of Azzam Ramzi Muhammad Hassan, the head of Hamas's fundraising apparatus. Together with other operatives, the network worked to raise hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide for the organization. Those funds were funneled directly into financing terrorism, building military capabilities, and paying salaries for members of Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The strike follows a previous operation against the same network on March 6, when Israeli forces hit the fundraising apparatus's offices in Sidon, killing three other operatives. The back-to-back strikes in the same city within less than two weeks signal a sustained campaign to dismantle Hamas's financial infrastructure in Lebanon.
"The Shin Bet and IDF will continue efforts to sever terrorist financing channels and act against all those involved in terrorism and supporting terrorist activity against the State of Israel in every arena as required," the Shin Bet said in a statement.
The operation demonstrates that even while waging a multi-front war against Iran and Hezbollah, Israel is simultaneously conducting precise strikes against Hamas's financial lifelines, choking off the money that keeps the terror organization's military machine running.