The United States on Friday issued sanctions aimed at a Hamas spokesperson and leaders of the group's drone unit, the Treasury Department said, according to Reuters.
The US sanctions targeted Hudhayfa Samir ‘Abdallah al-Kahlut (al-Kahlut), also known as “Abu Obeida”, who has been the spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, since at least 2007, the department said.
The sanctions also targeted William Abu Shanab (Abu Shanab), commander of the Lebanon-based al-Shimali unit, Bara’a Hasan Farhat (Farhat) assistant to Abu Shanab, the commander of the al-Shimali unit, and Khalil Muhammad ‘Azzam (‘Azzam), an intelligence official.
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated people that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The announcement came as European Union also announced sanctions targeting Hamas, as well as against Islamic Jihad.
Last month, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on a fund-raising network aligned with the Hamas terrorist organization.
In January, the United States sanctioned networks of Hamas-affiliated financial exchanges in Gaza, their owners, and associates. In conjunction with this action, Australia and the United Kingdom also placed sanctions on key Hamas officials and facilitators.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)