US imposes sanctions on six senior Hamas officials

The US imposed sanctions on Tuesday on six senior Hamas officials, with the US Treasury Department saying in a statement that Hamas’s representatives abroad, a member of its military wing, and those involved in fundraising for the group were being targeted.

"Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza," the Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.

"Treasury remains committed to disrupting Hamas's efforts to secure additional revenue and holding those who facilitate the group’s terrorist activities to account."

Hamas condemned the sanctions, issuing its own statement calling on the US to "review this criminal policy and stop its blind bias towards the terrorist occupation entity," in a reference to Israel.

"The Treasury Department's lists are based on misleading and false statements and foundations aimed at distorting the image of the movement's leaders... while ignoring the imposition of sanctions on the occupation leaders who commit the most heinous war crimes."

The sanctioned officials include Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas-led government in Gaza who was close to assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. He has often appeared in Arab and global media as a representative of Hamas.

Another prominent figure on the list is Bassem Naim, who was formerly Minister of Health in the Hamas-led government in Gaza and responsible for the group’s international relations. He has also made frequent media appearances as a spokesman for Hamas.

He told the New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the US sanctions were "foolish".

"This continued foolish policy has shown time and time again that it’s not effective and unable to impose anything or deprive peoples of their legitimate rights," he said.

Abdul Rahman Ghuneimat was also on the list of sanctioned figures. He was freed from an Israeli prison in 2011 as one of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners exchanged with Hamas for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israel has since accused him of operating Hamas cells in the occupied West Bank. He currently resides in Turkey.

In a Telegram statement, the group said: "We consider this step a confirmation of the criminal American behaviour biased towards the fascist occupation and its crimes against our Palestinian people."

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 Israelis and capturing 254. Around 101 of them remain in captivity in Gaza.

Israel began an indiscriminate war on the Gaza Strip on the same day, which has utterly devastated the territory and killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Reuters contributed to this report.