US issues sanctions against Hamas financing network, Treasury says

The United States issued additional sanctions on Friday targeting Hamas’ financial network, including targeting a member of the Palestinian militant group’s military wing, two France-based fundraisers and two entities, the Treasury Department said.

“These designations expose a sophisticated, multi-year financing architecture that moved more than $2 million to Hamas through deceptive charitable fronts and cryptocurrency channels, demonstrating the organization’s persistent ability to adapt its fundraising mechanisms to evade detection,” Treasury said in a statement.

The Hamas member, Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq, is a battalion deputy in the Hamas military wing based in Gaza, Treasury said. He oversees a financial network that has used various money services businesses and cryptocurrency wallets to transfer significant funds to the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, it added.