WASHINGTON, DC – October 3, 2026 (STL.News) U.S. authorities have announced a coordinated international counterterrorism operation targeting what federal prosecutors allege was a Hamas financing network that collected millions of dollars through campaigns presented as humanitarian fundraising while secretly directing money to the terrorist organization.
The enforcement action spans New York, Louisiana, Florida, and France and includes federal criminal charges, arrests on both sides of the Atlantic, and new sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The Justice Department announced Oct. 2 that Saleem Alzaq, 45, of Gaza, had been charged in federal court in New York. Authorities also arrested Omar Adhami, 33, and Abdel Adhami, 35, both of Covington, Louisiana, and Raed Yousef, 56, of Lutz, Florida.
French authorities simultaneously arrested three people identified by the Justice Department as associates of Alzaq: Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid and Nordine Barika.
France’s General Directorate for Internal Security made the arrests as part of the coordinated international investigation.
The criminal charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
DOJ alleges more than $1.7 million was collected
At the center of the U.S. investigation is Alzaq, whom federal authorities describe as a longtime member of Hamas operating from Gaza.
According to the Justice Department and a federal indictment filed in the Southern District of New York, Alzaq and alleged co-conspirators solicited donations beginning at least around January 2020 through campaigns presented publicly as efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
Federal prosecutors allege the money was instead used to support Hamas.
The Justice Department says Alzaq and his alleged co-conspirators collected more than $1.7 million through the purported charitable campaigns.
Some of that money allegedly came from U.S. donors.
The government alleges that Alzaq was not merely a fundraiser.
Federal authorities describe him as a longtime Hamas member and deputy battalion commander in the organization’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The Justice Department also alleges Alzaq previously served in the Photography Department of the Shujaiyya Brigade Media Office, where he distributed photographs and descriptions of Hamas events.
Those descriptions are government allegations contained in the federal case and related Treasury action. They have not been established through a criminal conviction.
Treasury identifies broader $2 million operation
A separate sanctions action announced by the Treasury Department provides a broader picture of the financial network the U.S. government alleges.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, sanctioned Alzaq, Barika and Oualid along with two France-based organizations: Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux.
Treasury says Barika, Oualid and Alzaq collected more than $2 million for Hamas from 2020 through 2026.
Approximately $1.5 million was collected after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, according to Treasury.
That figure is separate from the more than $1.7 million described in the criminal case against Alzaq.
The distinction is important.
The Justice Department’s criminal case alleges that Alzaq and his co-conspirators collected more than $1.7 million through purported charitable campaigns beginning around January 2020.
Treasury’s sanctions action describes a broader financing architecture involving Alzaq, fundraisers operating in France, purported charitable organizations, and cryptocurrency transfers.
Treasury characterized the operation as a six-year financing network that used deceptive charitable fronts and cryptocurrency to move money to Hamas.
Cryptocurrency allegedly moved hundreds of thousands
Cryptocurrency was one component of the alleged financing system.
Treasury says Barika and Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to Alzaq.
Digital currencies can facilitate international transfers without relying exclusively on conventional bank-to-bank payment networks. At the same time, transactions on many public blockchains leave records that investigators can potentially trace and analyze.
The allegations illustrate why cryptocurrency has become an increasingly important component of financial investigations involving sanctions evasion, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
Cryptocurrency itself is legal and widely used for legitimate purposes. The issue here is the government’s allegation about the funds’ ultimate destination and intended purpose.
Louisiana brothers accused of funding network
The federal investigation also led to the arrests of brothers Omar and Abdel Adhami in Louisiana.
According to the Justice Department, Abdel Adhami allegedly contributed approximately $94,000 to Alzaq’s financing network, while Omar Adhami allegedly contributed approximately $11,000.
Prosecutors say those contributions occurred between approximately February 2021 and September 2026.
Federal authorities allege the brothers knew Hamas engaged in terrorist activity and attempted to conceal their financial contributions through wire transfers and intermediaries.
Both men face charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The Justice Department says those offenses carry maximum statutory penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison.
Maximum penalties are not predictions of sentences. If a defendant is convicted, a federal judge determines the sentence after considering federal statutes, sentencing guidelines, and the case’s circumstances.
The FBI’s New Orleans Field Office investigated the Louisiana case, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana is prosecuting.
Florida defendant allegedly contributed nearly $50,000
Authorities also arrested Yousef in Florida.
Federal prosecutors allege Yousef contributed almost $50,000 to Alzaq’s financing network.
Yousef faces many individual criminal counts.
According to the Justice Department, he is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and five counts of attempting to provide material support.
He also faces one count involving the provision of funds, goods or services to a specially designated terrorist and five attempted violations of that prohibition.
Additional charges include conspiracy to commit money laundering, five substantive money-laundering counts and passport fraud.
The terrorism-financing and money-laundering offenses generally carry potential maximum sentences of up to 20 years, according to the Justice Department. The passport-fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Again, those are statutory maximum penalties, not expected sentences.
The FBI is investigating the Florida case, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is prosecuting.
French organizations become part of investigation
The arrests in France reveal the alleged operation’s international reach.
Treasury says Barika jointly established Association Baraka with Alzaq.
According to Treasury, Association Baraka solicited donations publicly under the premise of humanitarian assistance while allegedly transferring money to Alzaq.
Treasury says Oualid established another organization, Ensemble C Mieux, which was similarly used to collect money allegedly sent to Alzaq and Hamas.
OFAC designated both organizations as part of its Oct. 2 sanctions action.
The Treasury Department says the organizations were part of an alleged financing network that operated from 2020 through 2026.
Treasury’s administrative sanctions action and the Justice Department’s criminal prosecutions are separate legal proceedings and should not be treated as equivalent to criminal convictions.
Humanitarian fundraising at center of allegations
One of the most consequential elements of the case involves the alleged use of humanitarian appeals.
The Gaza Strip has faced enormous humanitarian needs during years of conflict, generating legitimate fundraising campaigns by international aid organizations, charities, and private individuals worldwide.
Federal authorities allege the network targeted in the latest operation exploited those humanitarian concerns.
According to prosecutors, Alzaq and his associates promoted fundraising campaigns that appeared to collect money for civilians but allegedly redirected funds to Hamas.
The government’s case does not establish that every person who donated to one of the campaigns knew where the money would allegedly go.
That distinction is critical.
For the defendants charged with knowingly supporting Hamas, prosecutors must prove the elements of the respective criminal offenses, including applicable knowledge or intent requirements, beyond a reasonable doubt.
Social media allegedly helped drive donations
The case also illustrates how social media has changed international fundraising.
Online platforms allow humanitarian organizations to reach potential donors almost instantaneously across national borders.
The same technology can also make it harder for ordinary donors to determine who ultimately controls a fundraising operation or where donated money goes.
Federal authorities allege Alzaq used social media to promote fundraising campaigns presented as humanitarian assistance.
Investigators therefore had to look beyond the public fundraising appeals and reconstruct the alleged movement of money through intermediaries, financial transactions and cryptocurrency.
That financial trail forms a central component of the government’s case.
NYPD intelligence analysts helped develop the case
The investigation involved both federal and local law-enforcement agencies.
The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force worked with the New York Police Department Intelligence Division on the Alzaq investigation.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s intelligence analysts uncovered the international financial network and helped build the case.
Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York are handling the case, with support from the office’s Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit and National Security and International Narcotics Unit, along with the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also assisted, while French counterterrorism authorities participated in the overseas portion of the operation.
The investigation demonstrates the complexity of terrorism-financing cases in which donors, alleged fundraisers, intermediaries, financial institutions and recipients may be located in several countries.
Hamas has faced U.S. restrictions for decades
Hamas has been subject to U.S. terrorism restrictions for decades.
The United States designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.
The Treasury Department subsequently designated Hamas pursuant to Executive Order 13224 in October 2001.
Those designations have significant criminal and financial consequences.
Federal law prohibits knowingly providing material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Material support is not limited to weapons or direct involvement in an attack. Under federal law, prohibited support can encompass money, financial services, and other resources under specified circumstances.
Treasury sanctions provide another enforcement mechanism.
OFAC says property and interests in property belonging to sanctioned individuals or entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons generally must be blocked and reported, subject to applicable regulations and authorizations.
The sanctions can also sharply restrict a designated person’s ability to participate in transactions involving the U.S. financial system.
Authorities attack financing infrastructure
The coordinated operation demonstrates the increasingly financial nature of counterterrorism investigations.
Rather than focusing exclusively on individuals accused of planning or conducting attacks, authorities attempt to identify the infrastructure that allows designated terrorist organizations to obtain and move money.
That can mean examining bank transfers, money-services businesses, fundraising organizations, social-media campaigns, intermediaries and cryptocurrency wallets.
The Oct. 2 operation combined several enforcement mechanisms simultaneously.
Federal criminal prosecutions can result in imprisonment if defendants are convicted.
Treasury sanctions can block assets under U.S. jurisdiction and restrict access to the U.S. financial system.
International law-enforcement cooperation allows investigators to pursue suspects, financial records and other evidence outside American borders.
In this case, those tools converged across three U.S. federal judicial districts and France.
Case raises warning for online donors
The investigation also carries implications beyond the defendants themselves.
Online fundraising has made it easier than ever for Americans to contribute directly to humanitarian causes overseas. But international fundraising can create additional challenges for donors trying to determine who controls a campaign, what organization ultimately receives the money, and how those funds are distributed after leaving the United States.
The allegations against Alzaq and his associates demonstrate why federal agencies scrutinize not only the public description of an international fundraising campaign but also its financial trail.
Treasury alleges that the broader network involving Alzaq and the France-based fundraisers collected more than $2 million for Hamas between 2020 and 2026, including approximately $1.5 million after Oct. 7, 2023.
Federal prosecutors separately allege Alzaq and his co-conspirators collected more than $1.7 million through purported charitable campaigns beginning around January 2020.
Those figures describe overlapping but differently defined aspects of the government’s investigation and should not be combined into a single fundraising total.
The criminal proceedings will now determine whether prosecutors can prove the allegations against the charged defendants.
Alzaq, Omar Adhami, Abdel Adhami and Yousef have been charged, not convicted. An indictment or criminal complaint contains allegations only, and defendants in U.S. cases are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
