A Hamas member has been accused of funneling some $1.7 million to the terror organization from international donors who believed they were giving humanitarian aid to Gaza, and two Louisiana brothers were arrested for contributing to the scheme, according to documents unsealed by the US Justice Department on Friday.
Saleem Alzaq, a battalion deputy in Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades and propaganda photographer, was accused of operating a fundraising network that used social media campaigns to collect donations for allegedly charitable purposes.
Instead of using the funds to provide humanitarian aid to individuals in Gaza, Alzaq funneled over $1.7 million to Hamas since 2020 with help from associates in France.
Alzaq was charged with multiple offenses including conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to defraud the United States.
Louisiana brothers, Florida resident accused of contributing to Hamas financing network
According to the documents, Louisiana brothers Abdel and Omar Adhami and Florida resident Raed Yousef were all accused of contributing to Alzaq’s Hamas financing network.
From February 2021 to September 2026, Abdel Adhami allegedly gave around $94,000 to Hamas, and Omar Adhami contributed $11,000 to the terrorist organization. Both brothers made the contributions while knowing that Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization and tried to conceal the donations using wire transfers and intermediaries.
The Adhami brothers were charged with providing material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, conspiring to commit money laundering, and other related offenses.
Yousef provided around $50,000 to Alzaq’s Hamas funding scheme and was charged with multiple counts of money laundering, attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and five counts of attempting to provide funds, goods, and services to a specially designated terrorist. He was also charged with Passport fraud and other charges related to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
According to an NBC News report, the Adhami brothers aided in Alzaq’s Hamas funding scheme, using social media to spread propaganda and solicit donations for “the poor and orphans in Gaza.”
Abdel Adhami allegedly used Snapchat accounts, Instagram, and Telegram in his efforts to raise money for the terrorist organization, according to NBC.