The Israel Police cyber unit, Lahav 443, said on Tuesday that it froze cryptocurrency accounts allegedly used by the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas for fundraising.
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Fast Facts
- The crackdown, assisted by the National Headquarters for Economic Warfare, is part of a broader effort to stop the fund flows to the militant group.
- The Israel Police said on X (formerly Twitter) that Hamas launched a crypto fundraising campaign after the start of the recent conflict, asking the public for crypto donations.
- Israeli authorities have reportedly urged the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, to withdraw the seized funds into Israel’s state treasury.
- Israel declared war on Hamas Saturday after the militant group carried out an attack causing at least 900 deaths in Israel, prompting a retaliation airstrike that killed at least 687 people in Gaza.
- Israeli crypto firms launched an emergency crypto fund on Monday, to aid war-stricken citizens.
- Crypto has been a fundraising source in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war for both sides.
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