US unveils sanctions against Hamas members, financial network
The 10 targets included a longtime Hamas operative based in Qatar who the Treasury Department said has close ties to Iran.
WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden traveled to Israel in a show of solidarity, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions Wednesday on key members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and across the region, including in Turkey and Qatar.
The new designations target Hamas members allegedly managing assets in a secret investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian government, a key Hamas commander and a Gaza-based crypto exchange.
The sanctions come as Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to demonstrate American support for the grieving nation as its military pounds the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and readies for an expected invasion of the Palestinian enclave in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack this month.
The combined death toll in Israel and Gaza has surpassed 4,000 since the fighting began and includes at least 31 US citizens. One of the Hamas members blacklisted by the Treasury, Ayman Nofal, was allegedly killed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier.
