The U.S. Treasury Division’s Workplace of International Belongings Management (OFAC) on Friday introduced sanctions in opposition to an official related to Hamas for his involvement in cyber affect operations.
Hudhayfa Samir ‘Abdallah al-Kahlut, 39, often known as Abu Ubaida, has served as the general public spokesperson of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the navy wing of Hamas, since a minimum of 2007.
“He publicly threatened to execute civilian hostages held by Hamas following the terrorist group’s October 7, 2023, assaults on Israel,” the Treasury Division mentioned.
“Al-Kahlut leads the cyber affect division of al-Qassam Brigades. He was concerned in procuring servers and domains in Iran to host the official al-Qassam Brigades web site in cooperation with Iranian establishments.”
Alongside Al-Kahlut, two different people named William Abu Shanab, 56, and Bara’a Hasan Farhat, 35, for his or her position within the manufacturing of unmanned aerial autos (UAVs) utilized by Hamas to conduct terrorist operations, together with city warfare and intelligence gathering.
Each Abu Shanab and his assistant Farhat are mentioned to be a part of the Lebanon-based al-Shimali unit, the place the previous is a commander.
Coinciding with the actions taken by the U.S., the European Union imposed sanctions of its personal in opposition to Al-Qassam Brigades, Al-Quds Brigades, and Nukhba Drive for his or her “brutal and indiscriminate terrorist assaults” concentrating on Israel final yr.
Whereas Al-Quds Brigades is the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Nukhba Drive is a particular forces unit of Hamas.
The joint motion, mentioned Underneath Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Monetary Intelligence Brian E. Nelson, is aimed toward “disrupting Hamas’s capacity to conduct additional assaults, together with by cyber warfare and the manufacturing of UAVs.”
The event arrived a bit over two months after the U.S. authorities sanctioned six Iranian officers related to the Iranian intelligence company for attacking crucial infrastructure entities within the U.S. and different international locations.
