US sanctions online site Gaza Now and its founder for allegedly supporting Hamas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on online media site Gaza Now and its founder Mustafa Ayash for allegedly supporting Hamas.

U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control says that after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel — the online entity began a fundraising effort in support of the militant organization.

Gaza Now’s Arabic channel has more than 300,000 followers on social media channel X, formerly known as Twitter, and a large following on the encrypted chat platform Telegram.

Included in the sanctions are firms Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Ltd., and their director Aozma Sultana, who are alleged to have partnered on multiple fundraising efforts alongside Gaza Now.

The sanctions were imposed in collaboration with the U.K.’s Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation.

Treasury Under Secretary Brian Nelson said in a statement that the U.S. and its partners “will continue to leverage our tools to disrupt Hamas’ ability to facilitate further attacks.”

A representative for Gaza Now and Ayash were not immediately available. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent those designated from doing business with Americans.