US, Britain impose new sanctions on Hamas, including terror group’s co-founder

The United States and Britain both announce sanctions on Hamas officials.

The US Treasury Department imposes the measure on eight Hamas officials and associates who have been advancing the Palestinian terror group’s finances abroad.

This is the fourth round of sanctions imposed against Hamas since the terror group’s October 7 terror onslaught in Israel, which left 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage into Gaza.

The Hamas members designated by the US for sanctions include Gaza-based members Ismail Barhum and Nizar Awadallah; West Bank-based Hassan Al-Wardian; Lebanon-based Ali Baraka and Maher Obeid; and Turkey-based Haroun Nasser Al-Din, Jihad Yaghmour and Mehmet Kaya.

“Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for… funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson says.

Britain sanctions Gaza-based Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar, as well as six others, including Baraka, the group’s head of external relations “who has publicly defended the October 7 attacks and sought to justify the taking of hostages,” the British Foreign Office says in a statement.

“Hamas can have no future in Gaza,” says British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. “Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further.”

He adds: “We will continue to work with partners to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.”