Hamas exploited & controlled NGOs working in Gaza, using humanitarian aid for terror purposes - report

Newly released documents reveal how Hamas exploited international humanitarian organizations in Gaza in order to weaponize humanitarian aid and establish a framework of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance of the humanitarian system for terror purposes. 

The documents, covered in a report by the Israeli organization NGO Monitor, show that took control of humanitarian projects and budgets by blackmailing and recruiting workers from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

NGO Monitor’s report was based on dozens of official documents in Arabic from Hamas’s Ministry of Internal Security, which describe how Hamas gathered information on senior employees in international aid organizations and built a network of trusted agents inside the NGOs, working on its behalf. These agents ensured that aid entering the Gaza Strip was tailored to the terrorist organization’s needs. 

🔴Revealed by @NGOmonitor: Documents removed from Gaza and later declassified by the @IDF show how Hamas exploits the humanitarian platforms of international organizations to advance its military goals.

The evidence confirms that some NGOs in Gaza do not operate independently or… pic.twitter.com/6Rl4k9DUxa

— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 3, 2025

The documents, which date from 2018-2022, were recovered by Israeli soldiers and military intelligence units inside Gaza during the Gaza War. The report details how the Interior Security Mechanism (ISM), a special unit within Hamas’ Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS), had oversight and in some cases control over projects carried out in the Strip. 

One of the main mechanisms for doing this was through the use of “guarantors,” Gazans selected by Hamas, who serve as a point of contact between the terror group and the NGOs.

Hamas required that the “guarantors” hold senior administrative positions, such as director, deputy director, or board chair, ensuring access to the highest levels of the NGOs’ local branches and operations. While international aid organizations were often aware of Hamas’ influence, they hid its deep involvement in operations from the governments and public which supported their work. 

🚨Exclusive Hamas files tell the untold story of a KGB-style system for infiltrating and controlling the entire humanitarian aid industry in Gaza, including international NGOs. 🧵

Through designated “guarantors,” Hamas steered humanitarian projects while NGOs stayed silent about… pic.twitter.com/vWaZHjb6r6

— NGO Monitor (@NGOmonitor) December 3, 2025

In the documents, senior Hamas officials describe how official representatives of leading NGOs, such as Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) were blackmailed to cooperate. These representatives allowed Hamas to closely monitor the NGO’s activities, influence them from within, exploit their resources for military purposes, and circumvent Western governments’ prohibitions on direct contact with Hamas. 

The Arabic term for this mechanism is “envoy,” referring to a senior official in the international organization responsible for liaison and coordination with Hamas.

At least 11 of the 55 names appearing in the analyzed documents are defined by Hamas itself as having ties to terrorism – including official members, activists and employees of Hamas' government agencies. For people defined as “non-cooperators,” Hamas operated a sophisticated blackmail system of collecting personal information and spying.

The documents include a “personal file” for each of the representatives, with comments such as: “She leaves the house in exposed clothing,” “He had an immoral relationship with a woman,” “Sent embarrassing photos,” and so on. 

The documents show how representatives within aid organizations used “Hamas-approved” beneficiary lists to distribute financial aid – lists that were then used by the UN and aid organizations without further scrutiny. This way, Hamas could ensure that aid reached people affiliated with it. 

NGO Monitor notes that Hamas’ infiltration was so effective, that none of the aid organizations ever reported Hamas infiltration in their ranks. Rather, scrutiny and criticism were directed at Israel, with many accusing it of "delaying" or disrupting their activities. 

Documents show that the NGO Oxfam operated an agricultural project in an area of ​​military importance to Hamas on the Gaza border, using a local company affiliated with Hamas. The terror group warned in the documents that the water project was taking place in an area of ​​military value, and that the fruit trees there were used “as a cover for resistance activity.” Hamas closely monitored the implementation of the project and even changed its characteristics to suit its military needs.

The report showed cases in which NGOs ignored risks caused by Hamas activity. A report from March 29, 2022, tells how employees of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) ignored complaints from citizens regarding terrorist infrastructure in residential areas. 

Testimony from the Hamas-affiliated head of NRC’s Gaza office, detailed how, as part of a UK-EU-funded project to provide cash assistance to families selected by the Ministry of Social Development, a delegation from NRC visited the apartment of an Gazan beneficiary. The resident was selected because of his “medical condition,” “since he is elderly, visually impaired and his partner has a broken pelvis,” and because of “the poor condition of the floor in his apartment and one of the walls is on the verge of collapse.”

During the visit, the beneficiary asked whether “the reason the floor [in the apartment] collapsed was because there was a tunnel” under his apartment. The senior NRC official clarified to Hamas authorities that “neither the foreign delegation nor the association’s employees asked whether there was a tunnel under the civilian’s…apartment which caused the floor to collapse, rather it was the apartment’s owner who asked the researchers…nevertheless the researchers did not reply to him.” 

“NGOs operating in Gaza are fully aware of the realities of working under Hamas rule,” NGO Monitor stated. “Instead of disclosing the coercive conditions under which they operate, NGOs consistently omit or downplay Hamas’ violations, refusing to expose how deeply the terror group has infiltrated, distorted, and exploited the humanitarian space.” 

“This research is of immense importance and comes at the right time,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor said.

“Governments and international organizations plan to transfer billions of dollars to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and will work in cooperation with a range of non-governmental organizations to rebuild infrastructure, provide municipal services such as electricity, water and education, and probably also distribute grants and cash payments. We now know which local organizations and associations supported the Hamas terror regime, and we call on the Israeli government and the IDF to thoroughly examine the activities of the organizations that will be allowed to provide aid to Gaza.” 

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