Gaza Now’s personal wallet received over $40,000 in inflows across different crypto assets.
Following the October 7 attacks on Israel, U.S. and British authorities stepped up their crackdowns on entities involved in terror financing through cryptocurrencies.
As a result, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK’s Office of Foreign Affairs Sanctions Enforcement (OFSI) earlier this week imposed new sanctions on two individuals and three entities for their alleged involvement in politics for the Palestinian Sunni Islamist Entity Hamas fundraising.
Entities supporting Hamas face sanctions
The sanctioned entities include Gaza Now, a social media outlet based in Gaza, and two London-based businesses, Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited. Gaza Now founder Mustafa Ayash and London Enterprise director Aozma Sultana were also targeted. They were found to have promoted pro-Hamas content and facilitated fundraising activities for the group.
Although Gaza Now has long promoted cryptocurrency donations, and according to Chainalysis’ latest findings, some of the addresses highlighted in the sanctions designation began receiving funds in 2021.
However, Gaza Now stepped up these efforts after October 7, frequently changing addresses due to increased censorship following the attacks and the channel's subsequent growth in followers. Gaza Now regularly publishes and then deletes posts soliciting donations, and switches between using several different cryptocurrencies in these efforts.
According to Chainaanalysis, Gaza Now has publicly declared support for Hamas and has been running a cryptocurrency donation campaign for quite some time, with some addresses being flagged as receiving funds since 2021.
However, the blockchain intelligence firm found that pro-Hamas online media channels frequently changed donation addresses, posted and deleted donation requests, and even switched between various cryptocurrencies in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. .
additional revelations
Chainalysis also found that all inflows came primarily from mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges. The flagged addresses received funds from three wallets previously seized by the National Bulk Cash Trafficking and Counterfeiting Task Force (NBCTF), as well as from an Iranian exchange in Iran and a Gaza-based money services business (MSB).
The company also discovered that Gaza Now’s personal wallet received slightly more than $40,000 in various crypto assets.
Instant exchanges, cryptocurrency mixers, and smart contracts also facilitated these fund transfers, suggesting that donors sought to conceal their activities.
Gaza Now’s incoming transaction amounts vary, with most being under $10,000. Chainalysis speculates that the larger transfers may be internal fund movements of the entity or its affiliates, rather than donations. #加密募捐 #联合制裁
