WASHINGTON: The United States in conjunction with the United Kingdom on Tuesday announced a third round of sanctions on Hamas since last month’s attack on Israel, again targeting the group’s Iranian backers.
The sanctions target “key Hamas officials and the mechanisms by which Iran provides support to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad”, a statement from the US Treasury Department said.
Tuesday’s actions mark another increase of US sanctions since the October 7 attacks that saw Hamas fighters surge through the heavily militarized Gaza border and kill 1,200 people – mostly civilians, according to Israel’s tally.
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“Iran’s support, primarily through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, enables Hamas and PIJ’s terrorist activities, including through the transfer of funds and the provision of both weapons and operational training,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Those targeted by the sanctions include Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s representative to Iran, Nasser Abu Sharif, as well as a Lebanon-based money exchange, Nabil Chouman & Co, that allegedly handles transfers between Hamas and Tehran.
According to the Treasury, Hamas’s global asset holdings are estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The United States will continue to work with our partners, including the UK, to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds to carry out its atrocities,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Since Hamas’ attack, in which it took some 240 hostages, some 11,200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s reprisal offensive, Gaza health officials have said.
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