President Biden's administration announced sanctions against roughly1,000 entities and individuals that Iran uses to support terrorism Wednesday morning.
The sanctions include 10 senior members and "financial facilitators" of the Hamas terrorist group, as well as roughly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to Iranian terror financing. The sanctions struck Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organizations in the Middle East that a senior Treasury official said were part of "a massive financial network."
The 10 individuals relating to Hamas are based in Gaza, Qatar, Turkey, Algeria and Sudan, the White House says. The Treasury Department sanctions will seek to "track, freeze and seize" Hamas-related assets across the globe.
"The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’ financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children," Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement.
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"The U.S. Treasury has a long history of effectively disrupting terror finance and we will not hesitate to use our tools against Hamas. We will continue to take all steps necessary to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel," she added.
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The sanctions name Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin, a West Bank-based member of Hamas; Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, a Sudan-based financier, as well as other operatives based in Turkey.
The fresh round of sanctions come as President Biden is on a visit to the Middle East. Biden is meeting with Israeli officials and was scheduled to meet with leaders of the Palestinian Authority in Jordan. Those plans fell through, however, after Hamas accused Israel of hitting a hospital with an airstrike. Israel has rejected the accusation and supplied evidence indicating that the hospital blast actually arose from a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short of its target in Israel. Biden has viewed the evidence and said he is convinced Israel is not to blame.
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Nevertheless, Biden has emphasized the importance of humanitarian aid for residents of Gaza. So far, the Arab countries surrounding Gaza have refused to accept refugees from the region.
