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Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Biden administration targeted Hamas with sanctions on Tuesday, blacklisting six leaders of the Iran-proxy militia on accusations they aided it in raising funds and smuggling weapons into Gaza. The sanctions are the ninth round of punitive measures the United States has imposed against Hamas leaders and supporters since Oct. 7, 2023, when the militia launched a bloody attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis and ignited the ongoing war.
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Hamas is technically a sociopolitical party that has ruled over the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since 2007, but also consists of a military wing known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Some countries, including the United States, do not view them as separate entities.
The Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Bradley Smith, said the organization relies on officials who maintain legitimate public roles in Hamas while facilitating its terrorist activities at home and aboard, including transferring funds and goods into Gaza.
"Treasury remains committed to disrupting Hamas's efforts to secure additional revenue and holding those who facilitate the group's terrorist activities to account," he said in a statement.
Among those targeted with sanctions on Tuesday include three Turkey-based Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the flow of funds to Hamas in Gaza.
Abd al-Rahman Ismail abd al-Rahman Ghanimat, who is in his early 50s, is described by the Treasury as a longtime member of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He is accused of founding a group supporting Hamas' efforts in the West Bank, but was also involved in "multiple attempted successful terrorist attacks," including the 1997 bombing of a cafe in Tel Aviv that killed three people and injured 48 others.
Ghanimat had received five life sentences but was among the more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for the freedom of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been in Hamas captivity since 2006.
Musa Daud Muhammad Akari and Salama Mari, both also in their early 50s, were previously convicted and imprisoned -- Akari for kidnapping and murdering an Israeli border police officer and Mari for his involvement in a 1993 West Bank attack that resulted in the death of a Israeli soldier.
Like Ghanimat, Akari, who had received three life sentences, was involved in the Shalit prisoner exchange.
The other three sanctions Tuesday are based in Gaza, including Ghazi Hamad. Believed to be in his mid to late 50s, Hamad is a Hamas spokesman. However, the Treasury said that in addition to his propaganda role, he used to oversee border crossing into Gaza.
According to the Treasury, these border crossings are not only a primary avenue to smuggle weapons into the enclave, but also construction equipment that Hamas used to build its extensive tunnel network Hamas leaders have used to hide during the war.
The other two Gaza-based officials hit with punitive measures were Mohammad Nazzal, a senior leader on Hamas' Council on International Relations, and Basem Naim, who has been involved in the militia's engagements with Russia, while having been a member of delegations to other countries.
"There is no distinction between Hamas' so-called military wing and its political leadership," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. "We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to target those who perpetuate Hamas' destabilizing activities."
The sanctions were imposed as Israel's war against Hamas has expanded from Gaza to Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Force has been targeting members of another Iran-proxy militia, Hezbollah, since Sept. 23.
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 44,000 people, many women and children, have died in the war. The Lebanon Health Ministry states that more than 3,500 people have died in the year of fighting, but most were killed in the last two months.
The sanctions, which free the assets of those named plus bar U.S. persons from doing business with them, were announced a day after the Biden administration hit two illegal West Bank entities with punitive measures.
