NEW YORK, N.Y. — A Turkish national arrested in Britain is facing extradition to the United States after federal prosecutors charged him with conspiring to provide material support and financing to Hamas through what authorities described as a purported international humanitarian organization.
Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, of Istanbul, also known as Orhan Korkmaz and Abu al-Baraa, was arrested in the United Kingdom on July 31 and ordered detained pending extradition proceedings, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Hasna has been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, conspiracy to finance terrorism, and financing terrorism. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years if he is convicted.
The charges remain allegations. Hasna is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case focuses heavily on Hasna’s alleged relationship with Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ politburo who U.S. prosecutors identify as having headed the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Social Development, or MoSD, in Gaza.
The U.S. Treasury designated Hamad as a specially designated global terrorist linked to Hamas in November 2024.
Prosecutors Allege Aid Was Directed to Hamas
According to the criminal complaint, Hasna served as global director of an international charity registered in Britain. U.S. authorities allege he used that position to provide financing and commodities to Hamas while maintaining extensive coordination with senior members of the terrorist organization.
Prosecutors allege that Hasna and Hamad coordinated the movement of purported humanitarian assistance into Gaza from at least 2023.
The alleged activities included arranging cash deliveries to Hamad, procuring supplies, transporting goods into Gaza from Egypt and elsewhere, directing supplies to warehouses, and distributing assistance according to lists of recipients identified by Hamad.
Authorities also allege efforts were made to conceal the ultimate destination and control of some supplies.
The Justice Department said the organization reported to British authorities that its gross income nearly doubled following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, rising from approximately US$41.8 million in fiscal 2023 to approximately US$81.56 million in fiscal 2024.
It reported spending approximately US$91 million on charitable activities during the fiscal year ending July 31, 2025, according to the Justice Department.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York alleged Hasna had abused his humanitarian position to provide resources to Hamas.
“Hasna worked closely with Hamas’s senior leadership to deliver supplies, food, funding, and other materials to terrorists under the guise of humanitarian aid,” McDonald said.
The FBI, U.S. Justice Department, British authorities and the Israel Security Agency were involved in the investigation, according to prosecutors.
NGO Monitor Says Case Points to Broader Concern
Jerusalem-based research organization NGO Monitor said Hasna’s arrest should draw renewed scrutiny to relationships between international humanitarian organizations and the Hamas-controlled MoSD.
NGO Monitor has researched those relationships for several years.
Its research alleges that the ministry’s role in selecting beneficiaries and coordinating humanitarian projects gave Hamas potential influence over international aid entering Gaza.
NGO Monitor has documented coordination between MoSD and several U.S.-based charities, including Mercy Corps, Anera and Rahma Worldwide. The existence of such coordination does not by itself establish that those organizations financed Hamas or committed wrongdoing.
NGO Monitor argues, however, that the relationships warrant greater scrutiny because Hamas exercised effective control over the Gaza ministry and Hamad held a senior position in both the ministry and Hamas.
“This arrest is a welcome step in choking off Hamas’ continued use of global sham charities to prop up its terror army,” NGO Monitor said in a statement provided following Hasna’s arrest.
U.S.-Funded Programs Under Scrutiny
NGO Monitor’s previous research found that Mercy Corps coordinated with MoSD on cash-assistance programs in Gaza.
According to a 2023 USAID document cited by NGO Monitor, Mercy Corps received US$9 million in USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance funding for multipurpose cash assistance in Gaza during fiscal 2022.
Project documentation stated that Mercy Corps and partner organizations would coordinate with MoSD and other ministries when identifying and verifying households receiving assistance.
NGO Monitor has also documented Anera’s interaction with MoSD.
Federal spending records cited by NGO Monitor showed USAID provided Anera with approximately US$79.2 million between 2013 and 2022 for a Palestinian community infrastructure program and later earmarked US$12.5 million for Gaza medical assistance from 2024 through 2029. NGO Monitor said it was unclear whether U.S. government money financed the specific Anera programs involving MoSD.
That distinction is significant. Documentation showing that a humanitarian organization coordinated with a Hamas-controlled government ministry does not establish that the organization knowingly provided material support to Hamas.
The allegations against Hasna are substantially more specific. Prosecutors accuse him of knowingly coordinating directly with Hamad to provide money and resources for Hamas’ benefit.
Rahma Worldwide’s MoSD Relationship
NGO Monitor has separately documented multiple projects involving Rahma Worldwide and MoSD.
Its research states that Rahma Worldwide, a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) organization, collaborated with the ministry on several initiatives, including cash assistance.
NGO Monitor has also reported that Rahma partnered with Kuwait’s Revival of Islamic Heritage Society. The U.S. Treasury designated that Kuwaiti organization in 2008 for providing financial and material support to al-Qaida and its affiliates.
Again, partnership or coordination with another organization does not by itself demonstrate participation in terrorism financing.
NGO Monitor nevertheless argues that the network of relationships illustrates why governments funding humanitarian programs in Gaza need stronger oversight mechanisms.
Ghazi Hamad at Center of Allegations
The common thread is Hamad.
Hamas appointed the politburo member to lead Gaza’s MoSD in 2019, according to NGO Monitor’s research. The U.S. government subsequently designated him in November 2024 as a Hamas-linked specially designated global terrorist.
The Justice Department now alleges that Hamad’s position within the ministry was part of the mechanism through which Hasna coordinated assistance for Hamas.
The criminal complaint therefore places renewed attention on a longstanding problem surrounding humanitarian operations in Hamas-controlled Gaza: how international organizations can deliver assistance to Palestinian civilians while preventing Hamas from controlling, diverting, or exploiting those resources.
NGO Monitor argues the Hasna prosecution should be viewed as more than an isolated case.
“Our research thus shows that this phenomenon, coordination with Hamas’ MoSD, is larger than one person or one arrest,” the organization said. “Accountability is needed for other groups and individuals who have continued working with this Hamas ministry.”
The U.S. government’s allegations against Hasna will now be tested through the judicial process. He remained subject to extradition proceedings following his arrest in Britain.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, characterized the prosecution as part of a wider effort to dismantle Hamas’ international financing infrastructure.
“The money that flows from sham charities like the one described in the complaint fuels Hamas’s terrorist activities,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said.
