US blacklists 3 'international terrorists' from Hamas

The US blacklists as “international terrorists” three Hamas senior officials, two of whom were released in the prisoner exchange in which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in 2011, AFP reports. The announcement was made by the State Department this afternoon.

The three are Yahya Sinwar, Rawhi Mushtaha and Mohammed Deif. The first two were released as part of the prisoner exchange. Deif, considered a chief of staff of sorts of the military wing of Hamas, has long been a target of Israeli assassination attempts. He was wounded seriously in more than one hit and is believed to be wheelchair-bound.