Hamas and the World of “NGOs”

The NGO Monitor report “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza“, published on 3 December 2025, reveals—through internal Hamas documents from 2018 to 2022—the “guarantor system” as one of the central instruments used by Hamas to control and instrumentalise humanitarian aid organisations (so-called “NGOs”) in Aza.

This system constitutes an institutionalised form of surveillance, infiltration, and coercive coordination that ensnares “NGOs” in a web of dependency and complicity. It serves Hamas not only to secure project approvals but, above all, to gather intelligence and exploit aid activities for military and propaganda purposes.

The following summary, based on this report of NGO-Monitor, examines the system step by step, based on documents cited in the report from the Gaza Interior Security Mechanism (ISM), a unit of the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS).

The summary is structured into definition and purpose, selection and vetting processes, roles and responsibilities, specific examples, control and surveillance mechanisms, risks for NGOs, and connections to Hamas structures.

Definition and Purpose of the Guarantor System

The guarantor system is an “invasive and egregious” mechanism by which Hamas forces formal liaison persons between its Ministry of Interior (MoINS) and international NGOs. Local Gaza residents, designated as “guarantors,” act as official points of contact and serve as a bridge that shields “NGOs” from direct contact with Hamas officials—a façade that suggests to Western donors that no direct cooperation with the terrorist organisation takes place.

In reality, the system enables informal back-channel communication that Hamas uses to bind “NGOs” into a regime of blackmail, intimidation, and surveillance. The primary purpose is to control “NGO” activities and ensure they align with Hamas’ security and ideological priorities.

Hamas regards guarantors as “high-value intelligence assets” that provide access to internal information, financial data, and “NGO” movements.

“Perhaps the most invasive and egregious mechanism, as exposed by these documents, is the “guarantor” system, whereby Hamas requires formal liaisons between its internal security apparatus and the international NGOs.” (NGO Monitor “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza”, 2025).

A December 2022 document lists 55 guarantors across 48 “NGOs” and emphasises their exploitability: “They can be exploited for security purposes in order to infiltrate foreign associations, their foreign senior personnel and their movements.” The system thereby perpetuates Hamas rule over aid flows and prevents independent reporting on abuses.

Selection, Vetting, and Approval of Guarantors

Most of the guarantors are recruited from the local Aza population aka Islamic Arab occupiers of Jewish land also known as “Palestinians“. Those guarantors must be approved by MoINS. They typically hold senior administrative positions within NGOs—such as director, deputy director, or board chairman—to ensure maximum access to sensitive data. The selection process is highly invasive and includes comprehensive background checks (vetting) based on multiple criteria:

• Security criteria: personal data, relationships, correspondence, professional background.
• Political and ideological criteria: religious observance, political activities, affiliations with terrorist groups (e.g., Hamas itself or the PFLP).
• Moral and criminal criteria: criminal history, social media activity, behaviour (e.g., clothing, relationships).

“Local Gazans, approved by MoINS, serve as the point of contact between Hamas authorities and NGOs. Hamas requires that such “guarantors” hold senior administrative positions, such as director, deputy director, or board chair, ensuring access to the highest levels of the NGOs’ local branches and operations.” (NGO Monitor “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza”, 2025)

Roles and Responsibilities in Coordination with NGOs

Guarantors act as central intermediaries, ensuring coordination between Hamas ministries (e.g., MoINS, Ministry of Social Development – MoSD) and “NGOs”. Their core tasks include:

• Project coordination: obtaining approvals for activities, exchanging beneficiary lists, and forwarding reports to Hamas.
• Surveillance and reporting: passing sensitive observations (security-related, administrative, financial) to handlers at MoINS.
• Intelligence gathering: serving as “human sources” to supply information about foreign staff, finances, and movements.

One example is the Mercy Corps guarantor who, in 2021, agreed to provide “through his handler Mohammed Abu Salama any security, administrative or financial observations from his work at Mercy Corps or in cooperation with active foreign associations.”

Guarantors thus enable Hamas control without NGOs having to interact directly with Hamas officials—a camouflage that conceals complicity. ““Guarantors” also serve another function, allowing Western NGOs to circumvent various government restrictions on direct engagement with Hamas.

For instance, an April 2022 Hamas intelligence report notes that “American associations present in the Gaza Strip do not engage with the Gaza government directly, but via an intermediate individual” (emphasis added).” (NGO Monitor “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza”, 2025)

Specific Examples from the Documents

The report cites numerous cases in which guarantors have close Hamas ties, underscoring their role as infiltration tools. The following table presents some examples:

NGO	Guarantor and Hamas Connection	Relevance in the System
MAP-UK	Administrative director in Gaza: works in Hamas’ military wing, affiliated with the movement, employed at the Hamas-linked Islamic University, friends in Hamas.	Serves as direct channel for military coordination.
Human Appeal	Director in Gaza: Hamas-affiliated, previous positions in the movement.	Monitors financial flows and projects.
CIVITAS	Executive director in Gaza: Hamas-affiliated since the First Intifada, organised with Hamas Da’wa groups.	Uses Da’wa networks for ideological oversight.
International Medical Corps (IMC)	Administrative director in Gaza: long-time Hamas supporter, Naqib (captain rank) in Da’wa at Sabarin Mosque.	Offices closed for one week in 2020 for refusing reports; guarantor as intelligence source.
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)	Administrative director in Gaza: supports Hamas, employed in the Hamas regime, Naqib rank.	Ignored tunnel questions in 2022 cash programme.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)	Director in Gaza: affiliated with the PFLP (designated terrorist organisation).	Provides access to US-funded aid.

Oxfam in the Context of the Guarantor System and Hamas Control

The NGO Monitor report singles out Oxfam as a particularly revealing example of Western NGOs’ complicity with Hamas’ control apparatus. Internal Hamas document shows how Oxfam (via its local partner, the Rai-Consult Association) implemented a water and agriculture project near the Israeli border in which fruit trees were deliberately used as camouflage for Hamas so-called “resistance activities.” The report quotes directly: “The trees serve as camouflage for resistance activities along the border” (Quotation from NGO Monitor “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza”, 2025).

Oxfam remained silent about this military exploitation of its project and thereby not only ignored Hamas infiltration but actively provided the terrorist organisation with infrastructural cover – funded, among others, by the United Kingdom and the European Union. This case starkly illustrates how even highly reputable NGOs are willing to comply with Hamas demands and suppress sensitive information in order to preserve their access to the Gaza Strip. Why? Because it means funds for Oxfam.

These examples demonstrate that guarantors are frequently Hamas members or sympathisers who undermine the system from within. “* MAP-UK’s “administrative director” in Gaza who works in Hamas’ military arm and “is affiliated with Hamas and has pledged allegiance to its rule.”

Moreover, MoINS detailed that “he is employed in the [Hamas-affiliated] Islamic University [of Gaza],” and that “his circle of friends is from the Hamas movement.”” (NGO Monitor “Puppet Regime: Hamas’ Coercive Grip on Aid and NGO Operations in Gaza”, 2025)

Mechanisms of Control and Surveillance via Guarantors

The system integrates guarantors into a broader surveillance network operated by the ISM and MoINS:

• Technological surveillance: installation of cameras in “NGO” offices; “Place associations and international organisations under constant technological surveillance, i.e. cameras.”
• Human infiltration: guarantors as “human sources”; “Infiltrate the headquarters of international organisations and their employees, both technologically and through human sources.”
• Personal and moral control: monitoring of clothing, social media, and relationships, e.g., “She leaves her home in revealing clothing that violates Sharia law” or “He is morally suspect due to information about his immoral relationship with a female employee.”
• Exploitation for intelligence: A June 2021 report describes the use of a Mercy Corps guarantor to monitor foreign “NGOs”; the December 2022 document aims for “outstanding security and intelligence achievements” through infiltration.

These mechanisms establish total control that forces NGOs to disclose sensitive data. NGO Monitor writes in its report: “A March 2020 MoINS document clearly identifies multiple local and international NGOs as important targets for Hamas security and espionage efforts, viewing them as “security dangers and a threat.”

Thus, Hamas’ internal security mechanism is directed to:

* “identify the guarantors and local employees inside organizations and associations”

* “classify guarantors according to security criteria in order to make use of them” (emphasis added) * “prepare security reports on all active and operating guarantors”

* “place associations and international organizations under constant technological surveillance, i.e. cameras.” (emphasis added)”

Connections to Hamas Structures (MoINS and ISM)

The guarantor system is firmly embedded in the Hamas hierarchy, particularly within MoINS and its Foreign Associations Department as well as the ISM. The documents originate directly from the ISM, whose divisions—such as the Division of Foreign Activity and the Branch of Foreign Associations—prepare reports on guarantors. The ISM head, such as Abdul Basit Al-Masri, receives these for threat assessments.

Coordination takes place with other ministries (e.g., MoSD for lists) and military units (e.g., Da’wa networks). Guarantors serve as a bridge between civilian aid operations and Hamas’ security apparatus, making the system a cornerstone of terrorist financing and control.

My conclusion: In summary, the guarantor system is a sophisticated tool of Hamas that perverts humanitarian work and turns “NGOs” into willing actors in a terrorist regime. They must be regarded like UNRWA as part and parcel of the Hamas terror structure. All “NGOs” named in this report must must be expelled from Israel and their offices in Israel closed. Criminal prosecution for supporting terrorism must be investigated.