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US, UK sanction media channel and four associates for funneling money to Hamas

Gaza Now and the others were put on the blacklist “to disrupt Hamas’ ability to facilitate further attacks,” said the U.S. Treasury Department.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The U.S. and UK announced Wednesday that they had put a popular pro-Palestinian media site and four associated entities on their financial blacklist for their fundraising efforts on behalf of Hamas.

Gaza Now, its founder Mustafa Ayash, two firms that allegedly contributed thousands of dollars to the channel’s funding campaign for the terror organization, and their director, Aozma Sultana, are being sanctioned.

Placement on the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s black list means that those individuals and companies, Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Ltd., will be unable to access American bank accounts and property, or do any business with Americans.

Hamas and many of its top echelon are also on the OFAC designated terrorist list.

“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,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson in a statement.

“The United States, in close coordination with our British partners, will continue to leverage our tools to disrupt Hamas’ ability to facilitate further attacks.”

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According to the British treasury ministry, which called Gaza Now “a terrorism-promoting media network,” Hamas is not the only extremist Palestinian group the Arab site supports.

It also “promotes…  Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),” a direct Iranian proxy that also participated in Hamas’ October 7 invasion from the Gaza Strip in which almost 3,000 terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people and took 253 hostages.

“The UK and its partners are committed to cutting off funding sources to Hamas, PIJ and any others supporting terrorist activity that prevents sustainable peace in the Middle East,” said Treasury Minister Baroness Charlotte Vere.

“We will also never hesitate to take action against those who exploit the integrity of Britain’s financial system, its broader economy and threaten our national security,” she added.

The freeze on all British assets relates only to Ayash and Sultana.

Gaza Now has 1.8 million followers on Telegram, and more than 300,000 on X. It started fundraising for Hamas immediately after the massacre, which sparked Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.