By Pishtaz | 2023-10-23

The United States on October 18 blacklisted 10 members, operatives and financial facilitators of Hamas, as conflict rages after the Palestinian militant group's surprise attack on Israel from Gaza.

The sanctions target individuals based in Gaza and elsewhere, including Sudan, Türkiye, Algeria and Qatar, the US Treasury said in a statement.

They censure Hamas members managing assets in a secret investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian regime and a key Hamas commander.

They also target a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator.

Hamas launched a surprise assault inside Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking hostages back into Gaza, AFP reported.

After Israel declared war and began retaliatory strikes, nearly 3,500 people have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities.

The sanctions came as US President Joe Biden visited Tel Aviv on Wednesday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In remarks ahead of the meeting, in which he delivered unequivocal US backing for Israel, Biden said "we have to also bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering."

He later renewed commitment on an elusive goal of creating a Palestinian state.

"As hard as it is, we must keep pursuing peace, we must keep pursuing a path so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely in security and dignity and in peace," Biden said.

"For me, that means a two-state solution."

Biden also announced a deal with Israel to allow humanitarian assistance to move into Gaza from Egypt, and $100 million in new US funding for humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel said it had agreed to Biden's request to allow aid into Gaza via Egypt. But it said it was limited to "food, water and medicine" and conditional on it not being used by Hamas, Netanyahu's office added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the sanctioned Hamas operatives and financial facilitators helped enable the militant group to "carry out acts like the vicious attack on Israel" and called on Hamas to release its hostages.

He stressed that the sanctions are "directed at Hamas terrorists and their support network, not Palestinians."

The United States, European Union and dozens of countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

To date, the US 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 Lebanese Hizbullah.

'Secret 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.

"The companies in Hamas's portfolio have operated under the guise of legitimate businesses and their representatives have attempted to conceal Hamas's control over their assets," it said.

"This investment network is directed by the highest levels of Hamas leadership and has allowed Hamas senior officials to live in luxury while ordinary Palestinians in Gaza struggle in harsh living and economic conditions."

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," also were targeted: Muhammad Ahmad Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah based in Qatar and Ayman Nofal, who the Israeli arm said was killed in an air strike on Tuesday, the Treasury said.

Nasrallah is a longtime Hamas operative based in Qatar with close ties to Iranian elements. In recent years, he was involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars to Hamas and its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Also censured was a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange, alongside its operator, that Hamas has relied on for donations, including via virtual currency.

"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.