The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case into the charity Restless Beings following a complaint by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) concerning its links with a Gaza organisation designated by the United States as controlled by Hamas’s military wing.

The Commission stated:

“Having reviewed the information you have provided, we consider that the concerns raised warrant further regulatory engagement with the Charity. Accordingly, a regulatory compliance case has been opened.”

UKLFI had submitted report on 8 March 2026, alleging serious failures of due diligence and possible breaches of charity and counter-terrorism law by Restless Beings (registered charity number 1135134).

Links to US-designated Hamas organisation

UKLFI’s investigation uncovered extensive evidence of operational cooperation between Restless Beings and Merciful Hands Gaza, an organisation designated in January 2026 by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.

The US Treasury stated that Merciful Hands was “owned, controlled, or directed by” Hamas and integrated into its military wing. It also reported that the Hamas military wing provided some of the organisation’s funding and specific operational instructions.

UKLFI’s report documented apparent overlapping personnel and joint humanitarian projects involving Restless Beings and Merciful Hands Gaza between 2022 and 2024.

Among the evidence submitted were:

• Shared personnel: Nura Barzaq, identified as a public relations officer for Merciful Hands, also appeared in Restless Beings fundraising and promotional videos between 2022 and 2025.
• Shared aid workers: Alaa al-Tabtibi and Mohammad Abu al-Ouf appeared in material published by Merciful Hands and were subsequently filmed wearing Restless Beings-branded clothing during aid operations.
• Joint aid operations: Videos from Ramadan 2022 showed Restless Beings branding on aid packages, banners and workers’ clothing in material published by Merciful Hands.
• Direct funding: In February 2024, Merciful Hands published material describing the distribution of 450 meals, each intended for two people, funded by Restless Beings.

The report also identified Anas Fahjan, who appeared in promotional material for both organisations and allegedly published social media content praising Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Concerns about terrorist connections

UKLFI also submitted evidence of longstanding connections between Merciful Hands and senior Hamas figures.

These included material identifying Muhammad Abu Nar, reportedly chairman of Merciful Hands between approximately 2015 and 2023, as a commander within Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades.

Other evidence included footage of Hamas leader Ahmed Behar speaking at a Merciful Hands event in 2017 and a Gaza news report crediting senior Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari with establishing the organisation.

UKLFI argued that these publicly available indications should have raised serious concerns about the adequacy of Restless Beings’ due diligence before and during its cooperation with Merciful Hands.

The complaint asked the Charity Commission to investigate whether charitable funds or resources had been transferred to, or used by, Merciful Hands, whether appropriate partner-vetting procedures had been followed and whether trustees had complied with their legal obligations.

Restless Beings’ 2025 Annual report states that  it “produced a ground breaking report on Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. Led the calls on UK and EU Governments to impose arms embargo on Israel.” And that it provides “Food, medicals supplies and life-saving support for victims of Israel’s Genocide in Palestine”

Charity Commission confirms further action

The Commission emphasised that opening a regulatory compliance case does not mean it has reached any findings against Restless Beings.

It explained that the process would allow it to obtain and assess further information and determine whether regulatory action was required.

UKLFI welcomes regulatory action

A spokesperson for UKLFI said:

“We welcome the Charity Commission’s decision to open a regulatory compliance case following our complaint.

“British donors giving money to humanitarian causes are entitled to know that their donations will not benefit terrorist organisations. Where a charity works with an overseas partner that has been identified by the US Treasury as controlled by Hamas’s military wing, there are extremely serious questions about due diligence, financial oversight and the trustees’ responsibilities.

“Our investigation uncovered substantial evidence of shared personnel, joint operations and funding between Restless Beings and Merciful Hands. We believe these matters demand thorough scrutiny.

UKLFI is grateful to Coleven for its research.