Charity Director Funneled Millions to Militant Group Hamas, Israeli Investigators Say

An executive in a global Christian charity group secretly has been sending tens of millions of dollars—money intended to aid poverty-stricken families in chaotic Gaza—to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israeli investigators say.

The news came Thursday as authorities indicted Mohammed Halabi on numerous criminal charges for misappropriating the funds. He is director of the Gaza office of the World Vision International relief group, and was arrested June 15 as he attempted to re-enter Gaza from Israel.

Halabi's arrest followed a lengthy investigation by Israel's Shin Bet security service, which concluded that roughly 60 percent of all the money received by the charity's Gaza office ended up in the hands of Hamas operators.