$1.7 million collected as part of a program in favor of Hamas, notably from American donors, according to prosecutors

Nearly three years after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, federal prosecutors say more than $1.7 million was paid to the Hamas terror group, including hundreds of thousands of dollars from U.S. donors.

Saleem Alzaq, a 45-year-old Gazan who prosecutors say is a longtime Hamas member, was accused of helping operate the fundraising campaign claiming to provide humanitarian aid, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Prosecutors say Alzaq and his co-conspirators raised money under the guise of providing food and winter essentials to Palestinians in Gaza between January 2020 and December 2025. The campaigns raised more than $1.7 million, including at least $626,000 from U.S.-based donors, according to the indictment.

Alzaq has been a member of Hamas since at least 2017, prosecutors say, and allegedly posted Hamas propaganda on social media, including messages celebrating the October 7, 2023 attack.

Prosecutors say Alzaq led an international fundraising campaign in the United States and France. In France, accomplices allegedly helped collect and transfer money, while two brothers from Louisiana contributed about $105,000 and a man from Florida provided nearly $50,000 to the terrorist network.

Alzaq was charged with one count each of conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The first three charges each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted, while the conspiracy to defraud charge carries a maximum sentence of five years. He has not been arrested and prosecutors say he was in Gaza during the alleged crimes.

The indictment alleges that Alzaq launched a new fundraising campaign on October 7, 2023, aimed at raising money for Gazans injured that day. The campaign remained open until about Oct. 12 of that year, prosecutors said.

Investigators also conducted a sting operation that prosecutors say provided evidence that Alzaq knew the donations were going to Hamas.

In November 2025, an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a New York-based Hamas supporter contacted Alzaq on Snapchat, according to prosecutors. Alzaq allegedly told the officer he had ways of receiving money in New York and offered to put the officer in touch with contacts there.

The following month, Alzaq allegedly told the undercover agent that he was working with people like the officer who wanted to bring money to the “Greens,” which prosecutors said was a reference to Hamas. He reportedly said he received money and gave it to the “Greens,” but that it would be difficult to provide proof because Hamas members avoided using identification documents.

Alzaq also allegedly told the undercover agent that he could deliver money monthly using coded language, including “bread,” “bakeries,” “buy bread” and “give it to bakeries.”

Prosecutors cited earlier Snapchat messages in which Alzaq allegedly discussed similar language with a U.S.-based Hamas supporter. After his supporter asked him in January 2024 about the money sent to the “bread people,” Alzaq reportedly responded that he had “learned the way” and could deliver “anything you want” to them.

The indictment also alleges that Alzaq advised donors not to reference Hamas to prevent their accounts from being closed, including asking his followers in October 2024 not to write “free Palestine” or “long live Hamas” on donations to his PayPal accounts.

“Our intelligence analysts uncovered this international financial network and built a dossier revealing that more than $2 million was funneled to Hamas,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “Saleem Alzaq, a leader of Hamas’s military wing responsible for planning and executing terrorist attacks, and the other defendants allegedly solicited donations under the guise of humanitarian aid and then directed the money to Hamas.”