Turkey-Based Global Director of Sham Charity Arrested for Conspiring To Help Hamas

The jig is up for a Turkish resident who allegedly funneled millions of dollars to Hamas while posing as a philanthropist.

On July 31, U.S. authorities announced the arrest of Mohammad Hasna, the global director of an international charity registered in the United Kingdom. Hasna allegedly used his senior role to help procure and distribute funds and supplies to Gaza in coordination with senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad. He was arrested in the United Kingdom, where he awaits extradition. In the United States, he faces charges of conspiring to provide material support to Hamas and of financing terrorism.

Turkey Acts as a Haven for Hamas Facilitators

Hasna is but the latest Turkish individual to use a private organization as cover to supply Hamas with money and materiel. Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury Department identified three Turkish nonprofits that serve as fronts for Hamas fundraising: Ghazi Destek Dernegi, Hayat Yolu, and the Palestinian White Hand Assistance and Solidarity Association. Filistin Vakfi is another Turkey-based charity that “raised funds” for Hamas. Treasury sanctioned Filistin Vakfi and its president, Zeki Abdullah Ibrahim Ararawi, in June 2025.

Entrenched Turkish Support for Hamas

Turkish support for Hamas is not limited to private organizations. In 2011, Hamas established a presence in Turkey at Ankara’s invitation. Hamas’s late political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and his late deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, subsequently received Turkish passports. Turkish officials continue to openly liaise with Hamas leaders. In March 2026, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin hosted Hamas’s political bureau in Istanbul, and Turkish soil has served as a sanctuary from which Hamas plots West Bank attacks.

On July 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya to congratulate him “on his appointment” as Hamas’s new political chief. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin had already commended al-Hayya “on the confidence placed in him by his colleagues” after Hamas announced his election on July 20.

Keep Targeting Hamas in Turkey

The Trump administration should keep targeting persons and entities in Turkey that enable Hamas, including its officials. Al-Hayya, though based in Qatar, operates freely in Turkey and is not yet sanctioned as a Specially Designated National (SDN).

Washington should withhold advanced U.S. weaponry from Ankara so long as it shelters Hamas. A NATO ally with an intelligence chief who congratulates Hamas’s leader and with banks and charities that keep surfacing on OFAC’s sanctions list should not be entrusted with the F-35 or the F-110 engines it seeks for its Kaan fighter. The Senate has moved to condition any F-35 sale on certification that Turkey no longer supports terrorist groups, and the State Department has reaffirmed that Ankara cannot rejoin the program while its Hamas ties and its purchase of the Russian S-400 air-defense system remain unresolved.

Hasna’s arrest is also a sign that the Muslim Brotherhood retains a foothold in the United Kingdom — a network Washington confronted by sanctioning a UK-based Muslim Brotherhood leader tied to Hamas financing. Washington should work with British authorities to tear down these networks.

Natalie Ecanow is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow. For more analysis from Natalie, Sinan, and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Natalie on X @NatalieEcanow. Follow Sinan on X @SinanCiddi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.