The Media Line: US Treasury Sanctions Six Gaza Charities, Palestinian Diaspora Group Over Alleged Hamas Ties 

US Treasury Sanctions Six Gaza Charities, Palestinian Diaspora Group Over Alleged Hamas Ties  

By The Media Line Staff  

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against six Gaza-based organizations and an international Palestinian group, saying they were secretly operating on behalf of Hamas while presenting themselves as humanitarian or civil society bodies.  

The action, carried out by the Office of Foreign Assets Control under Executive Order 13224, targets Waed Society Gaza, Al-Nur Society Gaza, Qawafil Society Gaza, Al-Falah Society Gaza, Merciful Hands Gaza, and Al-Salameh Society Gaza. Treasury said these groups publicly claimed to provide medical and charitable services to Palestinian civilians but were integrated into Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.  

Treasury said documents recovered from Hamas offices after October 7, 2023, showed that members of Hamas internal security were formally assigned to some of the organizations and that fighters were instructed on how to request support, services, and funding through these bodies. According to the statement, Al-Falah transferred more than $2.5 million to Hamas over a three-year period, while Al-Nur and other groups were used to pay members of the military wing and finance projects directed by Hamas.  

The department also designated the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), describing it as a Hamas-controlled front that presented itself as representing the Palestinian diaspora while advancing Hamas political and operational goals, including support for flotillas attempting to reach Gaza. Treasury said the group was established and directed by operatives linked to Hamas’s Bureau of International Relations and had received Hamas funding for its initial conference.  

Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi, a UK-based senior PCPA official and founding member, was also designated for supporting the organization.  

“Hamas continues to show a callous disregard for the welfare of the Palestinian people,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “The Trump Administration will not look the other way while Hamas leadership and enablers exploit the financial system to fund terrorist operations.”  

Treasury said the designations are intended to reduce the risk of terrorist financing within the nonprofit sector while allowing legitimate humanitarian assistance to continue under existing The Office of Foreign Assets Control general licenses. As a result of the sanctions, all property and financial interests of the designated entities within US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them.