US Slaps New Sanctions on IRGC, Hamas

Officers in the Revolutionary Guard chant slogans during a previous meeting with the Iranian leader. (Khamenei’s website)
Officers in the Revolutionary Guard chant slogans during a previous meeting with the Iranian leader. (Khamenei’s website)
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US Slaps New Sanctions on IRGC, Hamas

Officers in the Revolutionary Guard chant slogans during a previous meeting with the Iranian leader. (Khamenei’s website)
Officers in the Revolutionary Guard chant slogans during a previous meeting with the Iranian leader. (Khamenei’s website)

The US on Friday issued a second round of sanctions aimed at officials from Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, after 20 days of launching the Al-Aqsa Storm operation from the Gaza Strip against Israel.

The measures target additional assets in a Hamas investment portfolio and people facilitating sanctions evasion by Hamas-affiliated companies, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

A Gaza-based entity that Treasury said has served as a conduit for illicit Iranian funds to Hamas and the Palestinian Jihad group was also targeted, the department said. Iran backs Hamas and PIJ.

"We will not hesitate to take action to further degrade Hamas’s ability to commit horrific terrorist attacks by relentlessly targeting its financial activities and streams of funding," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo wrote, adding the sanctions aimed "to deny Hamas the ability to exploit the international financial system."

Adeyemo said some firms in the digital asset space were not doing enough to stop the flow of illicit finance.

Israel has bombarded the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed some 1,400 people. The group took more than 200 hostages, some of them infants, in the assault.

The Gaza health ministry said on Thursday that at least 7,326 Palestinians including 3,038 children had been killed in Israel's retaliatory air strikes.

Friday's action freezes any US assets of the targeted groups and generally bars Americans from dealing with them, according to Reuters. Those who engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.

The Treasury said it imposed sanctions on a Jordanian national who lives in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and who it said serves as the representative of Hamas in Iran, as well as IRGC Qods Force (IRGC-QF) officials who train and assist members of Hamas and other armed groups.

An Iran-based commander of the Saberin Special Forces Brigade of the IRGC Ground Force was also targeted. The US Treasury said the Saberin Brigade has deployed to Syria and has provided training to Hamas and members of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Sudan and Spain-based companies were also targeted under Friday's measures, as were Türkiye -based shareholders of a company previously designated as part of the Hamas investment portfolio.

The United States has said that the Hamas portfolio of investments, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, includes companies operating in Türkiye, as well as Sudan, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.

This month's violence has led to fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East.



Belgian King Denounces Gaza Abuses in Unusually Direct Remarks

Belgium's King Philippe delivers a speech on the occasion of the upcoming Belgian National Day at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool/File Photo
Belgium's King Philippe delivers a speech on the occasion of the upcoming Belgian National Day at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool/File Photo
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Belgian King Denounces Gaza Abuses in Unusually Direct Remarks

Belgium's King Philippe delivers a speech on the occasion of the upcoming Belgian National Day at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool/File Photo
Belgium's King Philippe delivers a speech on the occasion of the upcoming Belgian National Day at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool/File Photo

Belgium's King Philippe described abuses in Gaza as a "disgrace to humanity" in a speech on the eve of Monday's national day, unusually direct remarks on international affairs from a monarch who traditionally avoids public politics.

"I add my voice to all those who denounce the serious humanitarian abuses in Gaza, where innocent people are dying of hunger and being killed by bombs while trapped in their enclaves," he said speaking at his palace in Brussels, Reuters reported.

"The current situation has gone on for far too long. It is a disgrace to all of humanity. We support the call by the United Nations Secretary-General to immediately end this unbearable crisis."

It was the first time Philippe has spoken out so strongly and unambiguously about a conflict in public. Belgium's federal government has been more reserved in its criticism of the conflict in Gaza.

The king's role in Belgium is limited to giving advice, support, and warnings to the government without making any political decisions.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza following an October 2023 attack on Israeli towns by Hamas-led fighters. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 59,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials there. Much of the territory has been laid to waste and Israel has restricted food and other supplies.

Israel denies that its forces commit abuses in Gaza and says restrictions on supplies are needed to prevent aid from being diverted by militants.