"Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support. The ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the Hamas terrorist organization and will allow it to return and threaten the people of Israel," Cohen said at a meeting with Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts.
On October 7, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 18,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the escalation, the local authorities said.
The Gaza Strip was divided into north and south sections by the Israeli army in November, with military officials calling on Palestinian civilians to move south to escape active combat.
US, UK Impose New Sanctions on Hamas Financial Officials
Meanwhile, The US Treasury imposed a new round of sanctions on Wednesday in conjunction with the United Kingdom on Hamas finance officials and affiliated financiers, according to a release.
"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 funnelling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza," Brian Nelson, US treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, was quoted as saying in the release.
The targets include eight individuals, mostly Hamas officials based outside of Gaza.
Within Gaza, Ismail Musa Ahmad is a member of the Gaza Strip Political Bureau and regional finance department head who worked with sanctioned Hamas Finance Minister Zaher Jabarin to aggregate money from global fundraising into official Finance Ministry accounts. Nizar Mohammed Awadallah is a Gaza-based Hamas board member and part of Hamas’ Political Bureau.
Based in Turkiye, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din is the head of Hamas’ Jerusalem office and one of Hamas’ key financial operatives in Turkey, working in coordination with Jabarin and another senior sanctioned official, Salih Al-Aruri, according to the release,
Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour is a Hamas official representative to Turkey. He was sentenced to life in prison by Israel for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, but was exiled to Turkey as a part of the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011. Turkey-based Mehmet Kaya has been involved in multiple money transfers on behalf of Hamas over several years, involving tens of millions of dollars, the release said.
Hassan Al-Wardian is a senior Hamas official and a key figure in Bethlehem representing Hamas. He previously served as a political and field commander in Bethlehem and has spent time in Israeli prisons.
In Lebanon, Ali Abed Al Rahman Baraka is the head of Hamas’ National Relations Abroad. Maher Rebhi Obeid is also a Lebanon-based senior Hamas political leader and has been part of Hamas’ Political Bureau since 2010. Obeid is believed to have previously been the militant commander of Hamas in the West Bank.