Hamas Faces Deepening Financial and Leadership Crisis Amid War Pressure

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Hamas is undergoing what insiders describe as its worst crisis since the group’s founding in 1987, as financial collapse, public discontent, and leadership voids grip the organization across multiple fronts.

According to a Saturday report by the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat, the terrorist group is reeling from financial turmoil in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. The situation is particularly severe in Gaza, where public support has visibly eroded amid widespread economic hardship and unpaid salaries.

Sources within Hamas told the paper that the group is facing an unprecedented moment, unable to cover the wages of its military operatives, civil servants, and administrators. In the last four months, workers reportedly received only 900 shekels (roughly $240) in total, sparking growing resentment. Operational budgets have been slashed, and support payments to the families of dead or detained militants have been suspended entirely.

The organization’s military wing continues to function, though at a diminished capacity. Insiders reported a severe shortage of weaponry and an inability to pay fighters. Leadership vacuums have also emerged following a wave of Israeli targeted assassinations that eliminated key figures overseeing internal operations and finances.

Asharq Al-Awsat noted that Hamas activity in the West Bank has also been crippled, with many terror cells dismantled by Israeli and Palestinian Authority crackdowns. Those that remain are either inactive or limited in operational capacity, with many operatives arrested or killed.

While Hamas maintains international infrastructure, the group is encountering growing pressure in Lebanon. There, its representative faces pressure from authorities to disarm, adding further strain to the organization’s regional influence.

This report confirms and builds upon earlier findings published by Worthy News on April 17, citing The Wall Street Journal, which detailed Hamas’s growing dependence on black market humanitarian aid sales, taxation of merchants, and seizure of goods to fund its activities. Israeli military operations have not only choked off these lifelines but also eliminated central financial handlers and operatives, dealing further blows to Hamas’s logistical backbone.

“The situation is extremely difficult and devastating,” Hamas sources admitted to Asharq Al-Awsat, though they expressed hope of eventual recovery after the war, despite acknowledging it may take years.

Public frustration is mounting in Gaza, where residents in southern areas staged multiple days of protests against Hamas this week, voicing anger over worsening living conditions and the group’s failure to provide for civilians amid ongoing war.

As the cash-strapped terrorist organization teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, analysts warn that humanitarian aid shipments entering Gaza risk being seized or hijacked by Hamas in a desperate attempt to secure a financial lifeline. With traditional funding channels cut off and black-market revenues dwindling, aid diversion may become a critical survival tactic for the group.

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