US Treasury Sanctions France-Based Network for Financing Hamas

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on three individuals and two French charities accused of raising over $2 million for Hamas.

• The Treasury designated Salim al-Zaq, a Gaza-based deputy battalion commander in Hamas's military wing, alongside Fawzi Barika and Amal Walid.
• The two France-based charities Baraka and Ensemble Ça Meilleur were also sanctioned under the same executive order.
• The Treasury said the network raised over $2 million from 2020 to 2026, including $1.5 million after Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said terrorist organizations like Hamas rely on sophisticated financial intermediaries and fraudulent schemes.
• The Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging al-Zaq as part of six arrests in the US and France.
• The Treasury cited cryptocurrency channels among the methods used in the network's alleged fundraising.
• The Justice Department said French domestic intelligence detained Fawzi Brika, Amal Walid, and another French member of the Brika family.