How Hamas Leaders Direct Terrorism From Abroad

This article was last updated May 17, 2026.

Iran, Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey are all home to senior leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization. While keeping their distance from the ongoing war, they manage budgets, direct terrorist activities and incite violence among the international public. 

While Hamas is forcefully preventing Gazans from evacuating to southern Gaza for their safety, these leaders are not even present in Gaza. Yet they remain very much involved in the terrorist organization and enable its activities.

Hamas leaders live comfortable lives abroad. They collect funds, direct terrorist activities, and build connections with international figures and organizations, and they do it all to serve one atrocious goal: terrorism.

What is Hamas' Foreign Leadership?

Hamas’ leadership has a number of official establishments that all senior operatives are members of. This includes representatives from Hamas’ three main arenas of operation: Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and abroad in order to understand, map and locate Hamas’ terrorist leaders who are active abroad and what their positions truly mean, our Intelligence Directorate operates restlessly. 

Hamas’ foreign leadership is powerful; its members have immense influence within Hamas. They assist the general Shura Council - Hamas’ decision-making body, and thus have a direct impact when it comes to critical issues. 

Their responsibilities include:

• Managing Hamas assets and properties
• Raising funds
• Directing terrorist activities
• Building international connections
• Supporting Hamas' military wing

With the help of many external accomplices and generous financial backing, Hamas’ foreign leadership provides the terrorist organization with a logistical platform, creates legitimacy for its terrorist activities and develops a harmful web of international contacts.

As part of these efforts, the council conducts psychological battles on traditional and social media platforms, creating a theoretical foundation for the execution of brutal terrorist attacks.

Saleh al-Arouri and Hamas Expansion Outside Gaza

Understanding how this all started and what countries Hamas’ foreign leadership operates from requires going back to 2010. A terrorist operative named Saleh al-Arouri was released from Israeli prison and expelled to Syria. There, he became involved in Hamas leadership and began establishing Hamas’ Judea and Samaria headquarters, which he currently leads.

The headquarters he established set the manner in which Hamas operated in Judea and Samaria while providing professional direction, transferring funds to Judea and Samaria and encouraging terrorist activities, which for the first time were being planned and directed by a ‘foreign’ source.

A year later, after the beginning of the civil war in Syria, al-Arouri and the rest of the leadership escaped Syria. The members of the foreign leadership scattered throughout Turkey and Qatar, from which they continued their terrorist activities.

The information our intelligence directorate holds indicates that by using its foreign leadership, Hamas is carrying out terrorist activities in Muslim countries and Muslim communities in the West from four different arenas - Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar and Iran.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is Hamas’ foreign leadership?

Hamas’ foreign leadership refers to senior Hamas operatives who reside outside Gaza and manage funding, international connections, and terrorist activities.

Which countries host Hamas leaders?

According to the article, senior Hamas leaders operate from countries including, but not exclusive to: Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran.

What role does Hamas’ foreign leadership play?

The foreign leadership directs terrorist activities, manages assets, approves policies, and strengthens Hamas’ military wing.

Who is Saleh al-Arouri?

Saleh al-Arouri is a senior Hamas operative who established Hamas’ headquarters in Judea and Samaria.

What is the Hamas Shura Council?

The Hamas Shura Council is the terror organizations’ top decision making forum. The Shura council directly affects the most critical subjects in Hamas’ leadership – they are the terrorist organization’s “fuel”. They play an important active role in the policy and strategic approvals, and the internal decisions, like conditions, funds and appointing new leadership. 

With the help of others and financial assistance from business sources in other countries, the foreign senior leadership provides Hamas with logistical support, as well as creating legitimacy, and building a dangerous international network. As a part of that, the council also employs psychological warfare online and in the press, and creates a basis for terror attacks.