Monday marked one year since the Israeli attack on Gaza. And on this day, Israel's close ally, the United States, imposed new sanctions on Hamas.
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on an international fundraising network for Hamas on the one-year anniversary of the Gaza war. The network was accused of raising funds abroad for Hamas.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on the sanctions that it has imposed sanctions on three individuals. They run a 'fake charity' which is one of the main international supporters of Hamas. They also allegedly control Gaza's Al Intaz Bank.
The Treasury Department also said sanctions were imposed on a Yemeni national living in Turkey and nine of his businesses, a longtime supporter of Hamas.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks by Hamas, the Treasury Department will work relentlessly to reduce the capabilities of Hamas and prevent the financing of terrorist attacks by Iranian proxies.
Earlier, a year ago, Hamas attacked Israel along the Gaza border, killing 1200 people and taking 250 citizens hostage. In response, Israel has killed about 42,000 people by carrying out military operations in Gaza in the past year.
In this regard, the United States Treasury Department says that Hamas has used the suffering of the people of Gaza to raise funds through fake organizations, they may have collected up to 10 million dollars a month in donations. Hamas sees Europe as a major source of funding.
The Treasury says a Hamas member based in Italy is also targeted for sanctions, having formed the bogus charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and allegedly supporting Hamas's military wing. Actions have also been taken against two Hamas representatives in Germany and Austria.
Note that the United States declared Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997. Israel, Egypt, the European Union and Japan also consider Hamas a terrorist group.