Israeli Police Freeze Crypto Accounts And Related Bank Accounts Of Hamas

JAKARTA Tensions in the Gaza Strip are increasing after Hamas' attack on Israel on Saturday, October 7 last. Hamas' first attack claimed the lives of about 250 Israelis. This condition sparked the anger of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who declared war on Hamas.

It did not stop there, the Israeli police were also reported to have taken firm action by freezing crypto accounts allegedly used by Hamas to collect crypto donations during rising tensions between Israel and Hamas. This move also includes freezing Hamas-related accounts at Barclays Bank.

On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, an official Israeli Police account on social media platform announced that cryptocurrency accounts linked to Hamas and stored in Binance have been frozen.

Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization, is currently involved in an armed conflict with Israel. The Israeli police explained that their Cyber Unit, in collaboration with several national security agencies, claimed to have successfully frozen the crypto account used by Hamas to raise funds.

According to a separate announcement, the Israeli Police cyber unit, Lahav 433, identified cryptocurrency accounts used by Hamas to collect donations on social media. After the war broke out, Hamas launched an online fundraising campaign asking for contributions in the form of cryptocurrencies.

Officers from the Cyber Police Unit and National Headquarters for the Israeli Economic War immediately acted to track and freeze these accounts. Assistance in this action was also obtained from the Binance crypto exchange, which helped transfer funds to the state treasury.

In addition to freezing crypto accounts, the Israeli Police also announced that they had frozen bank accounts in Barclays Bank used by Hamas. This action is part of a broader effort to combat terrorist financing and target strategic financial assets owned by terrorist organizations.