Hamas has continued to pay thousands of its civil servants through a covert, cash-based network, despite the collapse of Gaza's economy and the total destruction of its infrastructure.
It has been nearly two years since Israel started its war on the besieged enclave, yet the militant group has managed to sustain a secretive salary distribution system. The group has disbursed approximately $7 million (Rs 58.3 crore) every 10 weeks to around 30,000 civil servants, even as Gaza's formal banking system remained defunct.
Three government employees confirmed to the BBC that they each received nearly $300 (Rs 25,000) in recent days, a payment amounting to only 20 per cent of their pre-war salaries, issued once every two-and-a-half-months.
With no formal banking infrastructure, Hamas has relied on covert channels. Employees, including police officers and tax officials, receive encrypted messages, often on their own phones or those of their spouses, directing them to obscure locations under innocuous pretexts such as "meeting a friend for tea". Once there, a contact discreetly hands over a sealed envelope with the salary and departs without further interaction.
"Every time I go to pick up my salary, I say goodbye to my wife and children. I know that I may not return," said one employee at the Hamas Ministry of Religious Affairs. "On several occasions, Israeli strikes have hit the salary distribution points. I survived one that targeted a busy market in Gaza City."
One teacher said he received 1,000 shekels (Rs 25,000) in worn-out banknotes, most of which were unusable.
The humanitarian crisis has worsened amid Israeli restrictions on aid, with food shortages and malnutrition rising sharply. A kilogram of flour recently cost as much as $80 (Rs 6,700), an all-time high in the enclave.
Israel says it has targeted key Hamas financial figures, including Ismail Barhoum, head of the group's finances, who was reportedly killed in a March strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Yet, salary payments continued.
A senior Hamas employee told the BBC that the group stockpiled nearly $700 million (Rs 5,830 crore) and hundreds of millions of shekels in underground tunnels prior to the October 7, 2023 attack. This cash reserve, the source said, was managed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed. Both have been killed.
Apart from cash salaries, Hamas has provided food parcels to its members through rotating emergency committees.
Before the war, Hamas derived income from import duties and local taxes. It also received substantial financial support from Qatar, while its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, is backed primarily by Iran.
A senior Muslim Brotherhood official said that 10 per cent of their budget was also directed to Hamas.
Hamas has reportedly continued to levy taxes on local traders and has profited from selling cigarettes at highly inflated prices. A box of 20 cigarettes now costs over $170 (Rs 14,200), up from $5 (Rs 420) pre-war.
