The United States, Britain and Australia imposed a fifth round of sanctions against Hamas on Monday, targeting the militants’ financial exchanges in Gaza and money being sent there by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In announcing the sanctions, U.S. Treasury official Brian Nelson said, “Hamas has sought to leverage a variety of financial transfer mechanisms, including the exploitation of cryptocurrency, to channel funds to support the group’s terrorist activities. Treasury, in close coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to leverage our authorities to target Hamas, its financiers and its international financial infrastructure.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said, “These sanctions send a clear message to Hamas [that] the [United Kingdom] and our partners are committed to ensuring there is no hiding place for those financing terrorist activities. To reach a sustainable cease-fire in Gaza, Hamas can no longer be in power and able to threaten Israel.”
The U.S. said the sanctions target key financial officials in Gaza who have handled millions of dollars in Iranian transfers to Hamas in recent years.
The newest sanctions follow earlier ones imposed in the weeks after the shock October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza that Hamas health officials say has killed more than 25,000 people.
In a statement, Treasury said, “Since at least 2020, Hamas has also used cryptocurrency to transfer some funding in support of operational costs in the West Bank as a means of mitigating the risks of physically moving cash, circumventing border crossings, and evading monitoring by authorities.”
The sanctions freeze any assets the Hamas entities hold in the U.S. and blocks Americans from doing any business with them.