US sanctions 10 Hamas members and financial network over Israel assault
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Washington taking ‘swift’ action in wake of massive terror attack; officials warn those who don’t comply with measures will suffer consequences
The US announced sanctions on Wednesday against a group of 10 Hamas members and the Palestinian terror organization’s financial network across Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and Qatar as it responds to a devastating attack on Israel that left some 1,400 people dead or kidnapped, the vast majority of them civilians.
Targeted for sanctions by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control are members who manage a Hamas investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian regime, a key Hamas commander and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange. Iran is Hamas’s main sponsor.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US “is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”
“The US Treasury has a long history of effectively disrupting terror finance and we will not hesitate to use our tools against Hamas,” she said in an emailed statement.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sanctioned parties helped enable Hamas to “carry out acts like the vicious attack on Israel.”
“Today’s actions are directed at Hamas terrorists and their support network, not Palestinians,” he added, calling for a release of hostages in the terror group’s custody, estimated at some 200.
Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters on Wednesday that Treasury officials will be traveling to the region in the coming days to further their sanctions work.
War erupted on October 7 when Hamas abruptly attacked Israel with thousands of rockets while 2,500 of its gunmen launched a ground incursion through the border with the Gaza Strip, slaughtering 1,400 people in southern Israel, the vast majority of them civilians. Some 200 people were abducted and taken hostage in Gaza, as communities and army posts overrun. Entire families were butchered, in some cases burned alive. Some victims were mutilated, tortured or raped, including children. Hamas has continued to rain rockets on southern and central Israel. Israel has responded with intensive strikes in the Gaza Strip and has declared its intention to depose and eradicate Hamas.
US President Joe Biden, who arrived in the Middle East early Wednesday to show support for Israel, has tried to tamp down regional tensions in the escalating war, but those efforts have faced massive setbacks, including an explosion at a Gaza hospital that Hamas swiftly claimed killed about 500 people, though the tally has been revised downwards. The Palestinians blamed Israel, which has provided a body of evidence accepted by the US that the blast was caused when the Islamic Jihad terror group fired a rocket at Israel that fell short inside Gaza, hitting the hospital parking lot.
Brian Nelson, the US Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and illicit finance, said at a Deloitte anti-money laundering conference on Tuesday that the US is renewing its plans to pursue Hamas funding streams and made a call for American allies and the private sector to do the same or “be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
“We cannot, and we will not, tolerate money flowing through the international system for Hamas’ terrorist activity,” Nelson said.
“We want to partner with all willing countries and financial entities to stop Hamas financing,” he said, “but to the extent that any institution or jurisdiction fails to take appropriate action, they should then be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
‘Investment portfolio’
“In addition to the funds Hamas receives from Iran, its global portfolio of investments generates vast sums of revenue through its assets, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” the Treasury said.
Among those designated on Wednesday are six people associated with a Hamas “secret investment portfolio.”
They include Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau; as well as Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, a Sudan-based Hamas financier.
Two “senior Hamas officials,” were also targeted: the Qatar-based Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah and Ayman Nofal, who was allegedly killed in an airstrike on Tuesday, the Treasury said.
The department also took aim at a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange, alongside its operator, noting that Hamas has relied on donations including via virtual currency.
As a result of the sanctions, property of designated individuals in the US must be blocked and reported, alongside other restrictions. Financial institutions engaging in certain transactions with sanctioned parties could also expose themselves to enforcement.
“We’re cutting them off from access to their money,” said a Treasury official, adding that senior officials will also be traveling to coordinate with allies.
To date, the Treasury said it has taken aim at nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and proxies, including Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.