Mohammad al-Halabi, former head of Australian aid program in Gaza, released from Israeli prison

Former Australian aid project manager, Mohammed El Halabi, has been released in a prisoner and hostage exchange between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. El Halabi, who was the manager of an Australian-funded food security project run by World Vision, was detained by Israeli security forces in 2016 and convicted in 2022 of funneling funds to Hamas.

El Halabi rejected a plea bargain and maintained his innocence throughout the trial. On Saturday, he was released as one of 72 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for three Israeli hostages. Notably, these security prisoners are distinct from those held in administrative detention without trial. Upon his release in Gaza, El Halabi again asserted that he had been wrongly imprisoned.

Speaking to local media in Gaza after his release, El Halabi said, "They [the Israelis] detained me only because we provide aid and relief to the people of Gaza. They wanted to tighten the siege on Gaza - that's what they told me on the first day of my detention. But they acted like a gang, they had no evidence, they convicted me without any evidence and told the world they had a secret file that doesn't exist." Much of the evidence against El Halabi was secret, with even his lawyers stating they were unable to view most of it.

Neither World Vision's forensic audit nor reviews by the Australian government found any missing aid funds, leading some observers to accuse Israel of prosecuting El Halabi to undermine aid projects in Gaza, an accusation the Israeli government denies. At the time of the trial, the Israeli government told the ABC, "All the charges against Mr. Halabi are well-founded on solid evidence and we reject any claim to the contrary."

Former CEO of World Vision, Tim Costello, said he was deeply relieved to see El Halabi released. "I was in tears," he said. "I know Mohammed, he visited Australia. He was given an international development humanitarian award. He's a man of integrity, and for him to be in jail for eight and a half years with five kids, and to be released, I can't help but weep. He's an innocent man. Even though he was encouraged to plead guilty for a lesser sentence, he wouldn't. He said 'I did nothing,' and he didn't."

Costello added, "I would have preferred he was found not guilty, but in this case, I am very relieved he has been released and I'm also happy for the Jewish hostages who have been released." El Halabi appeared gaunt and frail upon his release. He claims he was tortured by Israeli authorities early in his imprisonment to force a confession, an allegation the Israeli government denies. Former World Vision Middle East director, Conny Lenneberg, said she was concerned that El Halabi's health had been severely affected by his time in prison.

Lenneberg said, "I was absolutely shocked. I worked very closely with Mohammed El Halabi. I visited him many times and, frankly, if he walked up to me in the street, I probably wouldn't have recognized him. He was just not the same person. He looked very gaunt, very unhealthy. I was also very moved by his continued protestations of innocence and his passion for humanitarian work." Australia suspended funding for the aid project following El Halabi's arrest, and Lenneberg said his conviction made it extremely difficult to provide aid to people in Gaza.

Lenneberg concluded, "This case should never have proceeded, there was no evidentiary basis for this case... whatever the security concerns were, this was about allegations of misappropriation of funds, and therefore the evidence should have been presented. Everything has been done to investigate these allegations, because it's not just about Mohammed - he's clearly the most important person in this case - but it's about aid to Gaza for many years, and colleagues and the whole of World Vision. So, that we have not been able to resolve this case and that no evidence was ever presented to back up these allegations and the eventual verdict, is really disappointing."