The U.S has announced its fifth round of sanctions since October 7 on what the Department of the Treasury said are Hamas-linked individuals and businesses.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the Treasury said the new measure targets “networks of Hamas-affiliated financial exchanges in Gaza, their owners, and associates.”
The sanctions in particular impact financial facilitators who acted as key players in transfers of funds, including cryptocurrency transfers, from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip.
“In conjunction with this action, Australia and the UK are also placing sanctions on key Hamas officials and facilitators,” he said.
Britain’s foreign office said that its sanctions targeted Zuheir Shamlakh, a man known as Hamas’ “main money changer”, and a key figure involved in the group’s shift towards cryptocurrencies who helped transfer money from Iran to Hamas ahead of the group’s October 7 attacks.
“These sanctions send a clear message to Hamas – the UK and our partners are committed to ensuring there is no hiding place for those financing terrorist activities,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.
Also, Washington targeted four officials and supporters of Kataib Hezbollah (KH) as well as Fly Baghdad and its Chief Executive Officer, Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani, accusing the airline of “providing assistance” to Iran-backed “proxy groups” in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Iran-linked groups in Iraq have been targeting US forces since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“Iran and its proxies have sought to abuse regional economies and use seemingly legitimate businesses as cover for funding and facilitating their attacks,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson noted.
However, the U.S Treasury suggested that Iraqi groups have also been cooperating with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has been involved in a daily exchange of fire with Israel.
“KH sent fighters from Iraq to Lebanon on flights operated by Fly Baghdad and US-designated Al-Nasr Wings to attend special operations training run by Hezbollah,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Moreover, Brad Cooper, the US Navy’s top Commander in the Middle East, said that Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group.
“Clearly, the Houthi actions, probably in terms of their attacks on merchant shipping, are the most significant that we’ve seen in two generations,” Cooper told a news agency.
He added, “The facts simply are that they’re attacking the international community; thus, the international response I think you’ve seen.”
Iran has previously denied involvement in the Houthis’ military operations, stressing that its allies in the region have their “own tools of power.”
Large U.S Labour Union Calls For Ceasefire In Gaza
In other developments, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents nearly two million employees in healthcare, the public sector and property services in the United States and Canada, called for ending the war on Gaza.
“We call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the delivery of life-saving food, water, medicine and other resources to the people of Gaza,” SEIU President, Mary Kay Henry said in a statement.
She added that the demand is “rooted in the pain” felt by the union’s members, including “the hundreds of thousands of SEIU healthcare workers who see themselves in the healthcare workers in Gaza who have been killed trying to save lives.”
Labour movements, a traditional constituency in the Democratic Party of U.S President Joe Biden, have been increasingly supporting the call for a ceasefire, adding to the pressure against the White House’s unwavering support for the war.
READ ALSO: Old Mutual Ghana Urges All To Turn Resolutions Into Actions In 2024
