US, Britain Impose New Sanctions Against Hamas Operatives

The United States and Britain on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of sanctions targeting funding operations for the Hamas militants fighting Israeli forces for control of Gaza.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement the new sanctions are aimed at eight individuals in Turkey and elsewhere who represent Hamas interests abroad and manage their finances.

“Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Treasury identified one of the key Hamas financial operatives in Turkey as Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, contending he has been involved in a network that transferred money from Turkey and Gaza to the Hamas command center in the West Bank city of Hebron to further unrest in the West Bank.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets the Hamas operatives might hold in the U.S. and block them from making future transactions with American and British interests.

The U.S. and Britain earlier imposed three rounds of sanctions on Hamas after its deadly incursion into Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and allowed the militants to seize about 240 hostages.

In its retaliatory offensive attempting to end Hamas rule of Gaza, Israel has killed more than 18,000 people in the narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea.

Both the U.S. and Britain classify Hamas as a terrorist group.