Israeli authorities redirects frozen Hamas cryptocurrency funding to state treasury

Israeli authorities reportedly “located and froze” cryptocurrency accounts belonging to the Hamas group with assistance from Binance, local media outlet Calcalist reported on Oct. 10.

As per the report, Israel’s Lahav 433 police unit collaborated with the nation’s defense ministry and other intelligence agencies to track the group’s cryptocurrency fundraising accounts, and the seized funds were subsequently transferred to the state treasury.

The total amount of cryptocurrency seized from these wallets was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time the Israeli authorities have seized crypto-related accounts of the Hamas group. In April, the authorities seized 190 Binance accounts with ties to the Islamic terrorist groups since 2021.

Before that, Israel seized at least $33,500 and $750,000 of cryptocurrency from Hamas-linked crypto wallets

Over the weekend, the Hamas group attacked Israel, resulting in multiple losses of lives and properties. In response, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country was in a war to ensure its survival. He compared the Hamas group attack with those of the Islamic terrorist group,  Islamic State (ISIS).

The U.S. Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) charges, dating back to March, suggest that Binance executives were engaged in deliberate discussions and approvals of transactions associated with Hamas.

Binance has yet to respond to CryptoSlate’s request for comment on its role in the seizure as of press time.

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