Hamas is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, with government employees in Gaza receiving just 900 shekels (approximately $250) a month for the past four months, according to a report published Saturday by the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
The ongoing salary delays and cuts have intensified already dire living conditions in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Sources within Hamas told the paper that the organization is struggling not only to pay civil servants but also members of its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and other affiliated institutions across all ranks. Funding for social services and various ministries has reportedly been nearly suspended for over four months, severely limiting public services tied to the group.
The Qassam Brigades, the report noted, have not paid fighters for approximately three months and are facing acute shortages of military supplies. Families of deceased and wounded Hamas members are also reportedly no longer receiving consistent support, a shift from earlier in the war.
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Administratively, a leadership vacuum has emerged in Gaza’s Hamas-run government. The sources said the group is struggling to fill key roles due to Israel's targeted strikes on anyone perceived to be attempting to restore or facilitate government operations. Despite these challenges, Hamas’ military command structure reportedly continues to function, though operational difficulties persist in northern and southern Gaza due to ongoing Israeli actions.
These reports follow a Wall Street Journal article last month that cited intelligence sources as saying Hamas was nearly bankrupt after sustained Israeli strikes and a halt in humanitarian aid — which has since resumed. According to those sources, many government employees stopped receiving wages, and even senior Hamas officials saw their pay halved during Ramadan.
The shortage signals a profound organizational dysfunction inside the terrorist group, which is now dealing with renewed fighting and is having difficulty recruiting "fighters" without payment.
Before the war, Hamas reportedly received $15 million in monthly cash transfers from Qatar, which also raised funds for the group in West Africa, South Asia and the United Kingdom. Arab and Western officials say much of Hamas’ reserve funds, estimated at $500 million, are currently held in Turkey.
Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has restricted physical cash flows into Gaza. Palestinian sources told the Wall Street Journal that Hamas was involved in seizing approximately $180 million from Palestinian bank branches across the enclave. The group had previously supplemented its income through customs duties at crossings, taxes on merchants and trade operations using foreign cash to import goods for resale inside Gaza.
Hamas has not publicly responded to the latest claims.