Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told the International Union of Muslim Scholars Conference in Qatar on January 9 that donations to Gaza were not "humanitarian aid" but a form of "financial jihad," according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.
"Jihad" is defined by Oxford Languages as "a struggle or fight against the enemies of Islam" and or "the spiritual struggle within oneself against sin." Terror attacks are often considered to be acts of jihad.
Muslims use "jihad" to describe an internal struggle to live out the Muslim faith, the actions taken to build a Muslim society, and to describe a "holy war" to defend Islam, with force if necessary, according to the BBC.
"The [Islamic] nation has an important role. The scholars of our nation have a pivotal role, on two fronts: The first front is supporting the resistance. Brothers and sisters, the whole world is pouring weapons on the occupation. The whole world is not afraid to do so. There are air bridges from multiple capital cities which reach the occupation, as well as aircraft, and so on and so forth. This has become an individual obligatory [Islamic] duty, which we must perform," Haniyeh told the conference.
"Like the scholars have mentioned, there are fatwas to this effect, and there are motivating statements. There is verbal Jihad, which is Jihad by the tongue, but indeed, the time has come for Jihad of the swords. This is the battle for Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and not the battle of the Palestinian people, or Gaza, or the people in Gaza.
"The people of Gaza constitute our frontline trench for defense, as well as for offense. They are not there only to defend, but also to attack. What was October 7 if not a frontline trench for an offensive by our nation? We must not let this moment slip away. The time has come. Oh, sons of our Islamic nation, oh, free people of the world, there are very few historic moments like this. Do not let this moment slip away. Our nation and our Islamic scholars have very few historic moments like this. Do not let this moment slip away, because if it does, we do not know how many decades will pass before such a moment returns.
"Time is on our side. At the beginning of this aggression, the Americans were waving a big stick in the face of the world, and even in the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities in some European countries—some of their prominent Palestinian or Arab figures were summoned and were told not to raise the Palestinian flag or do anything. But the language of the same countries has now changed. Why has it changed? Because of the [Palestinian] steadfastness. Were it not for this steadfastness, the conscience of the world would have been crushed. Brothers, we should build on this steadfastness. We should hold on to the victory that took place on October 7 and build upon it.
"The Islamic scholars can establish groups and delegations on multiple levels. These delegations would meet the officials of the countries in which they live—government officials, political parties, civil society, institutions—and fulfill their duty in their own countries. They can even lead the masses [in protests]. That's for one. Secondly, [we should] form special delegations that will meet with the heads of state in the Arab, Muslim, and even Western countries. They should visit countries and talk about Palestine, Jerusalem, Gaza, and the need to stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip.
"The second issue is the call to donate money. Dear brothers and sisters, let us call this 'financial Jihad.' The Islamic nation does not make 'donations.'
"This is not just a humanitarian issue, despite its immense importance and Gaza's need for any aid it can get. This is financial Jihad. We should revive this principle of Islamic jurisprudence in our Islamic nation—the notion of waging Jihad with one's life and one's money."
Humanitarian aid in Gaza
Gaza has been the recipient of aid from Israel, the United States, the United Nations, Jordan and many over countries as humanitarian conditions have suffered since Israel launched its war against Hamas.
The United States has begun delivering aid via airdrops in hopes of it reaching Palestinian civilians.
Hamas, the terrorist organization responsible for running the strip, has been accused of stealing humanitarian aid and manufacturing a crisis that would result in a high civilian death count.
Gazan civilians have testified to officers of the IDF's Unit 504 how Hamas murdered Gazan civilians who tried to get help from UNRWA and that Hamas terrorists steal food from US aid organizations and seize civilian properties for military use.
In one recorded call, a Gazan civilian testified that Hamas murdered his cousin because he tried to seek help from UNRWA. In another conversation, a civilian said he does not leave his home because he fears Hamas will seize it and use the property to fire toward Israel and destroy his house.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.