Palestinian-American billionaire resigns from Harvard amid lawsuit tied to Hamas-led Oct 7 attack

Bashar Masri, the Palestinian-American billionaire, has resigned from his position at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, according to a report by the New York Post on Thursday. His resignation comes amid a lawsuit alleging that he helped facilitate the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel.

During the attack, approximately 6,000 militants from Hamas and other Gaza-based factions breached the Israeli border, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others from communities in southern Israel.

“Mr. Masri has resigned from the Dean’s Council. The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process,” a spokesperson for Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government told New York Post. 

Masri who is the current chairman of the Palestine Development and Investment Company, is accused of helping Hamas to finance its vast tunnel infrastructure network in Gaza as well as the terrorist group’s many rocket launch sites from where it fired rockets against Israeli communities and towns. The Jihadist group has used its tunnel network to hide Israeli hostages, Hamas leaders, operatives and weapons used in the ongoing war against Israel. 

Families of American victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, filed the lawsuit against Masri in federal court in Washington, D.C in an effort to seek justice for the at least 46 U.S. citizens who were killed by Hamas terrorists during the attack. 

The attorney Gary Osen, who is leading the lawsuit and the prosecution team against Masri, emphasized that the tunnel network in Gaza has been critical in Hamas’s warfare against Israel. 

“Any assessment of the factors that enabled Hamas to carry out these unprecedented attacks is woefully incomplete without considering the terror tunnel network’s central role. Palestinian attack tunnels, which have plagued the Israeli people for more than a decade now, were activated to unprecedented levels on October 7th,” Osen stated. 

Masri stands accused of using United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for various infrastructure projects in Gaza. Since Hamas was and remains in control of Gaza, Masri’s conduct reportedly enabled Hamas to receive international funds for its tunnels network and weapons development. 

One of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs is former Israeli science and technology minister Yitzhar Shai whose son, Sergeant Yaron Uri Shai was killed on Oct. 7. 

“We cannot return to the pre-Oct. 7 mindset, where people delude themselves that strengthening the economy in Hamas-controlled Gaza does not also mean strengthening its terrorist infrastructure,” Shai stated. 

“The prosecution presents evidence that senior Palestinian investors raised funds from the World Bank, the UN and the European Union to build an industrial zone and luxury hotels in Gaza – while at the same time working with Hamas to build the terror tunnels underneath them,” he continued. 

While Masri resigned from his Harvard post, he officially denies any wrongdoing. Masri’s office claimed that the lawsuit is “baseless,” claiming that Masri has never "engaged in unlawful activity or provided support for violence."

However, Masri’s claims are undermined by his documented cooperation with senior Hamas officials, including the group’s former “economy minister,” Abd al-Fattah al-Zari’i, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in August 2024. Al-Zari’i played a key role in supporting Hamas’s terrorist activities by illegally diverting international humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

In May 2022, Masri was photographed alongside al-Zari’i, raising further questions about his involvement. He is believed to have played a role in helping Hamas finance its attacks against Israeli civilians.

Masri, who has close ties to Adam Boehler – former hostage envoy under the Trump administration – was reportedly being considered for a senior role in a post-war Gazan administration. However, in light of the lawsuit connecting him to Hamas, his chances of being seen as a credible candidate for any future governance role in Gaza have significantly diminished.