Argentina designates Hamas a terror group in show of support for Israel

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina has designated Hamas a terrorist organization and ordered a freeze on the financial assets of the Palestinian group, a largely symbolic move as President Javier Milei seeks to align Argentina strongly with the US and Israel.

Announcing the decision, Milei’s office cited the Palestinian terror group’s cross-border attack on Israel last October 7 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians were killed and 251 taken hostage, in the deadliest assault in Israel’s 76-year history.

The statement also mentions Hamas’ close ties to Iran, which Argentina blames for two deadly terror attacks on Jewish sites in the country.

The move comes just days before the 30th anniversary of one of those attacks, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. It killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more in the worst such attack in Argentina’s modern history.

The other attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, in 1992, killed more than 20 people. Argentina’s judiciary has accused members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group of carrying out the two attacks.

The announcement professes Milei’s “unwavering commitment to recognizing terrorists for what they are,” adding that “it’s the first time that there is a political will to do so.”