Hamas Reportedly Pays Fighters for Terror Attack Videos Aired on Al Jazeera
Insider intel reveals how Hamas paid its fighters thousands for terror attack footage — and how Hamas evacuated its own fighters while telling civilians to stay in active war zones
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gazan-born Palestinian-American and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, has released exclusive intelligence revealing Hamas’s systematic abuse of humanitarian zones and a donor-financed industry that incentivized attacks on Israeli military units. The revelations come from a Palestinian attorney who worked closely with Hamas’s legal system in Gaza before October 7 and maintained contact with Al-Qassam Brigade members during the war.
The attorney, whose identity remains protected, reached out to Alkhatib specifically because of his anti-Hamas stance and desire to expose the terror group’s inner workings to someone outside Gaza who opposed their ideology and actions.
Secret Evacuation Orders While Civilians Stayed Behind
According to Alkhatib’s source, Hamas issued covert evacuation orders to its fighters approximately one month before sharing this information with Alkhatib. A Hamas fighter who had just received his monthly salary was given a printed directive stating: “All brothers are hereby instructed to leave for the safe zones and depart Gaza City.”
This evacuation order came even as Hamas publicly instructed civilians to remain in Gaza City to “frustrate the Israeli war effort,” according to the attorney’s account. The terror group’s strategy appears designed to preserve what they termed their “human capital” to ensure Hamas’s presence in any post-war arrangements.
The attorney reported that Hamas continues to pay monthly salaries and exchange messages manually, with a significant number of terrorists now positioned in al-Nuseirat, where the group has established extensive infrastructure in central Gaza. Hamas leadership reportedly envisions maintaining influence in any transitional arrangement, even if they don’t directly rule the Strip.
Million-Dollar Video Incentive System Exposed
Perhaps most shocking was the revelation of Hamas’s donor-funded payment system for attacks against Israeli forces. The attorney encountered an Al-Qassam Brigade fighter who had recently participated in an attack against Israeli ground units in Gaza City. The fighter expressed anger at another Hamas member who “owes me 150,000 shekels (~$45,000) for blowing up an Israeli tank.”
The fighter detailed a systematic process where Hamas incentivizes RPG or IED attacks against Israeli military units through a structured payment system. Fighter cells receive up to 200,000 shekels (~$60,000) for standard attack footage, while videos that gain widespread attention or are featured by Al-Jazeera are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. All videos begin by thanking specific donors, predominantly Arabs or foreign Muslims from other countries, and are sent to a centralized Hamas production unit for editing before being shared online and with Al-Jazeera.
Mercenary Motivations Over Martyrdom
The intelligence reveals that contrary to Hamas’s public messaging about martyrdom and resistance, many fighters are primarily motivated by financial gain. As Alkhatib noted in his analysis, “aspirations of martyrdom or resistance slogans do not per se drive Hamas fighters; they are literally acting as mercenaries who, like their leaders, are primarily in it for how much money they can make from fighting Israel.”
This finding aligns with broader questions about Hamas leadership’s motivations, as many senior officials have amassed significant wealth while operating from relative safety outside Gaza.
