US, Britain Impose more Sanctions on Hamas Officials

Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo
Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo
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US, Britain Impose more Sanctions on Hamas Officials

Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo
Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

The United States and Britain on Wednesday imposed an additional round of sanctions on people in Türkiye and elsewhere who are linked to the Palestinian Hamas militant group, the US Treasury Department said.
The sanctions target eight officials who advance Hamas’ agenda and interests abroad and help manage its finances, the Treasury said in a statement.
"Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza," said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Several of the Hamas officials targeted were based in Türkiye, including one of the group's key financial operatives there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, Treasury said.
Haroun Nasser Al-Din has been involved in a network that transferred money from Türkiye and Gaza to the Hamas command center in the West Bank city of Hebron, it said, and helped subsidize Hamas activities to further unrest in the West Bank.
Nelson traveled to Oman and Türkiye at the end of November to work on US efforts to deny Hamas and other groups the ability to raise and move funds.
It was the fourth round of US sanctions on the Palestinian group following its deadly incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people. Israel's subsequent military retaliation has killed 18,000 people in Gaza, local health officials say.
In coordinated actions on Wednesday, Britain's foreign office said it sanctioned seven additional people linked to Hamas, including Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas’ co-founder, and Ali Baraka, Hamas’ head of external relations who was also sanctioned by the United States.
The UK sanctions also target a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and figures in the financial network that backs Hamas, including individuals in Lebanon and Algeria.
"Hamas can have no future in Gaza. Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.
It was Britain's second round of sanctions against Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks.
The sanctions actions block all property and interests in property of the designated persons in the United States and Britain, as well as transactions involving the individuals targeted.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the sanctions were unjustified and Hamas later said they were based on false allegations.
"We call on the American administration and the British government once again to review their aggressive policies towards our Palestinian people," Hamas said in a statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen welcomed the latest sanctions and called on other countries to follow suit, "as only a persistent uncompromising struggle will lead to the collapse of the Hamas government."
Others cited by the United States include Ismail Musa Ahmad Barhum, who helped to collect money from global fundraising into Hamas finance ministry accounts, the Treasury Department said, and Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour, Hamas' official representative to Turkey.
The sanctions targeted Mehmet Kaya, also based in Türkiye, over his involvement in multiple money transfers on behalf of Hamas, "ultimately providing tens of millions of dollars of financial services for Hamas," it said.



Delta Plane Flips Upside Down on Landing at Toronto Airport, 18 Injured

A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
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Delta Plane Flips Upside Down on Landing at Toronto Airport, 18 Injured

A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)

A Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped upside down upon landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday amid windy weather following a snowstorm, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board, officials said.
Three people on flight DL4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport suffered critical injuries, among them a child, a Canadian air ambulance official said, with 15 others also immediately taken to hospitals.
Some of the injured have since been released, Delta said late on Monday.
The US carrier said a CRJ900 aircraft operated by its Endeavor Air subsidiary was involved in a single-aircraft accident with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
The 16-year-old CRJ900, made by Canada's Bombardier and powered by GE Aerospace engines, can seat up to 90 people. At least one of the two wings was no longer attached to the plane, video showed after the accident.
Canadian authorities said they would investigate the cause of the crash, which was not yet known.
The Delta plane touched down in Toronto at 2:13 p.m. (1913 GMT) after an 86-minute flight and came to rest near the intersection of runway 23 and runway 15, FlightRadar24 data showed.
The reported weather conditions at time of the crash indicated a "gusting crosswind and blowing snow," the flight tracking website said.
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said late on Monday the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions, but several pilots Reuters spoke to who had seen videos of the incident pushed back against this comment.
US aviation safety expert and pilot John Cox said there was an average crosswind of 19 knots (22 mph) from the right as it was landing, but he noted this was an average, and gusts would go up and down.
"It's gusty so they are constantly going to have to be making adjustments in the air speed, adjustments in the vertical profile and adjustments in the lateral profile," he said of the pilots, adding that "it's normal for what professional pilots do."
Investigators would try to figure out why the right wing separated from the plane, Cox said.

Flights have resumed at Toronto Pearson, but airport president Deborah Flint said on Monday evening there would be some operational impact and delays over the next few days while two runways remained closed for the investigation.
She attributed the absence of fatalities in part to the work of first responders at the airport.
"We are very grateful that there is no loss of life and relatively minor injuries," she said at a press conference.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said it was deploying a team of investigators, and the US National Transportation Safety Board said a team of investigators would assist Canada's TSB.
Global aviation standards require a preliminary investigation report to be published within 30 days of an accident.