The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Wednesday that it had sanctioned two individuals and three entities as forming a key Hamas fundraising network.
Mustafa Ayash, the founder of Gaza Now, and Aozma Sultana, the director of Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited, allegedly partnered together in multiple fundraisers for the terrorist organization, a press release by the Department of the Treasury stated. (RELATED: Janet Yellen Says US Will Not Seek To ‘Decouple’ From China)
Sultana’s two companies allegedly gave thousands of dollars to Gaza Now and advertised the organization as their fundraising partner at a joint event following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the press release read.
“Treasury remains committed to degrading Hamas’ ability to finance its terrorist activities, including through online fundraising campaigns that seek to funnel money directly to the group,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson stated, according to the press release. “The United States, in close coordination with our British partners, will continue to leverage our tools to disrupt Hamas’ ability to facilitate further attacks.”
The Department of the Treasury explained how the sanctions would operate.
“[A]ll property and interests in property of the designated persons … that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported … [A]ny entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” the press release read in part.
The United Kingdom labelled Gaza Now as “a terrorism-promoting media network”, according to their own Treasury’s press release. The British press release emphasized that Gaza Now had promoted both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Gaza Now has a reach of over 1.8 million people on their Telegram account, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
US, Britain Sanction Gaza Now Media Channel Over Hamas Fundraising https://t.co/mHIlsYYVT3 via @ndtv
— Ilan Hulkower (@IHulkower) March 27, 2024
“[The United States] Treasury remains committed to enabling the flow of legitimate humanitarian assistance supporting the basic human needs of vulnerable populations, while continuing to deny resources to malicious actors,” the press release read.
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization, according to the Director of National Intelligence’s National Counterterrorism Guide. The U.S. Treasury has piled up multiple rounds of sanctions against entities and individuals they claim are associates or promoters of the terrorist organization since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that murdered around 1,200 people and took captive over 200 persons.