Hamas issued a statement late Tuesday, describing the US move as “a confirmation of the criminal American behavior biased towards the fascist occupation (Israeli government) and its crimes against our Palestinian people”.
It stressed that the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury “are based on misleading and false statements and foundations aimed at distorting the image of the movement’s leaders who work for the benefit of their people, their cause, and their right to resist the (Israeli) occupation”.
Hamas added that the US sanctions lists also ignore the Israeli leaders “who commit the most heinous war crimes and use money and all means to carry out the most heinous genocide in history”.
The Palestinian resistance group demanded that the US administration review its policy, stop its blind bias toward Israel, and “restrain it from its crimes, aggression, and widespread violations of international and humanitarian law”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against six Hamas senior leaders for allegedly facilitating “terrorist activities” and transferring funds to the group in Gaza.
Members of the Hamas Political Bureau in Gaza, Basem Naim, and Ghazi Hamad are among those named on the new list against Hamas.
The US announcement against Hamas was not the first to impose sanctions on its leaders, as several of Hamas’ senior and top leaders are already on the US sanctions list.
The US, Israel’s main ally and arms supplier during its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, is one of several mediators between Hamas and Tel Aviv working to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, along with Egypt and Qatar.
The mediation efforts, however, have failed due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.
Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 44,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 104,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
