2024-04-12T18:25:00+00:00
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/ The US Treasury Department announced that the United States issued sanctions today, Friday, on “Abu Ubaida,” spokesman for the military wing of the Hamas movement, and leaders of the Palestinian movement’s drone unit, which Washington classifies on terrorism lists.
The ministry added in a statement that the European Union is simultaneously imposing sanctions targeting Hamas.
The sanctions targeted Hudhayfah Samir Abdullah Al-Kahlot, known as “Abu Ubaida,” who has been the spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, since at least 2007.
The ministry’s statement said that Abu Ubaida publicly threatened to execute civilian hostages held by Hamas following the movement’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Abu Ubaida leads the cyber influence department in the Al-Qassam Brigades. He participated in purchasing servers and domains in Iran to host the official website of the Qassam Brigades in cooperation with Iranian institutions, according to the Treasury Department.
The sanctions also affected William Abu Shanab, commander of the Northern unit stationed in Lebanon, Baraa Hassan Farhat, Abu Shanab’s assistant, and Khalil Muhammad Azzam, an intelligence official.
On Friday, the European Union imposed sanctions on the military wings of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements against the backdrop of “large-scale” sexual violence committed during the October 7 attack on Israel.
The bloc said that fighters from the two Palestinian factions, which are already included in the list of organizations classified by the European Union as “terrorist,” had “committed widespread acts of violence and gender-based violence in a systematic manner, using this as a weapon of war.”
The decision to impose sanctions falls within the framework of an agreement between European Union countries under which Israeli settlers who committed acts of violence in the West Bank will also be blacklisted.