Hamas member Muhammad Saleh al Bardawil founded Al Khair Challenge, a Gaza-based charity that remains active and continues to solicit donations, FDD’s Long War Journal has found. The US Treasury Department has previously sanctioned Hamas for exploiting charities and nongovernmental organizations as cover to obtain and move funds for terrorist activities.
On April 2, Al Khair Challenge announced on Facebook that it had created an award in the name of its founder. “On the anniversary of the founder’s martyrdom, al Khair Challenge is launching the Martyr Muhammad Saleh al Bardawil Award for Humanitarian Work, to serve as a beacon supporting the resilience of our people in the Gaza Strip and to honor exceptional efforts in providing relief to those afflicted,” the organization posted.
Roughly a year earlier, on April 4, 2025, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet intelligence agency announced that the Israeli military had killed Bardawil, who they said “served as a propaganda and psychological terror operative” for Hamas. The IDF, which did not mention Bardawil was affiliated with a charity, also published photos of him in a military uniform speaking at a Hamas ceremony.
In addition to references to his name, separate photos of Muhammad al Bardawil released by the IDF and Al Khair Challenge confirm Bardawil’s ties to Hamas and the charity organization. Bardawil was also a journalist and a “presenter at al Aqsa Radio,” a Hamas-run radio station based in Gaza City.
Following the killing of Bardawil, Al Khair Challenge launched a crowdfunding campaign in the name of the Hamas operative. The campaign has raised roughly $105,000 on Spotfund, a US-based crowdfunding website. Al Khair Challenge’s donation page on the platform does not say that Bardawil was a Hamas member. The charity organization is also raising funds for additional projects on the site, including a second donation page in its founder’s name.
Long War Journal reached out to Spotfund for comment about Al Khair Challenge’s donation pages but did not receive a response. LWJ also contacted Al Khair Challenge for comment on the Israeli military’s announcement about Bardawil’s role with Hamas but did not receive a response.
Hamas has not officially acknowledged that Bardawil was a member of the Islamist group.
Under US law, Hamas is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Any organization proven to provide material support to such entities, including financial services, would violate the USA PATRIOT Act and additional anti-terror financing statutes.
Hamas and other US-designated Palestinian terrorist groups have a long track record of exploiting charities to financially support their activities. On June 10, 2024, the US sanctioned five individuals and six charities accused of disguising financial support for Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The targeted entities operate across Turkey, Algeria, the Netherlands, Italy, and the Palestinian territories.
Joe Truzman is an editor and senior research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal focused primarily on Palestinian armed groups and non-state actors in the Middle East.
Tags: Al Khair Challenge, Hamas, IDF, Israel, Israel Hamas, Spotfund
