The U.S. Treasury Department has designated six Gaza-based organizations and a Hamas-controlled international group in its latest crackdown on the terrorist organization’s financial networks, citing evidence recovered after the October 7 attacks.
The sanctions target groups that officials say funnel money to Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and represent the ninth round of sanctions imposed since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel last year.
“Hamas continues to show a callous disregard for the welfare of the Palestinian people,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “The Trump Administration will not look the other way while Hamas leadership and enablers exploit the financial system to fund terrorist operations.”
Following the Money Trail
Among the organizations sanctioned, Al-Falah Society Gaza stands out for its significant financial support, having transferred over $2.5 million to Hamas over a recent three-year period. The Waed Society, another target, receives direct funding from Hamas while advocating for captured Hamas fighters.
The Treasury also targeted the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which officials describe as a Hamas-controlled organization that organizes flotillas attempting to break Israel’s security cordon around Gaza while expanding Hamas’s political influence among the Palestinian diaspora.
Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi, a UK-based senior official and founding member of PCPA’s General Secretariat, was individually sanctioned for materially assisting the organization.
Is this just another symbolic move? Not according to Treasury officials, who have been methodically targeting Hamas’s financial infrastructure since October. The sanctions are imposed under Executive Order 13224, which gives the government authority to disrupt financial support networks for terrorists by blocking property and prohibiting transactions by U.S. persons.
Part of a Broader Campaign
These new designations build on the Treasury’s extensive efforts against Hamas and other Iranian-backed groups. OFAC has previously imposed sanctions on nearly 1,000 individuals and entities connected to terrorism by the Iranian regime and proxies including Hamas, targeting secret investment portfolios worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The other Gaza-based organizations named in this round include Qawafil Society Gaza, Al-Nur Society Gaza, Merciful Hands Gaza, and Al-Salameh Society Gaza – all allegedly supporting Hamas’s military wing based on documentary evidence from Hamas offices captured after October 7, 2023.
“Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith in a previous statement on Hamas sanctions.
The State Department has designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997, with additional designations coming in 2001. The Treasury’s recent actions reflect a continued focus on what officials describe as Hamas’s exploitation of charitable organizations to fund violence while the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates.
For those tracking the financial war against terrorist groups, today’s announcement represents the latest chapter in a complex campaign to isolate Hamas from international financial systems – though questions remain about how effective such sanctions can be in a region already devastated by conflict and economic isolation.
