ALBAWABA - As part of continued attempts to increase pressure on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the United States slapped fresh sanctions on six senior officials of the group on Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the penalties are directed at Hamas leadership, including its representatives overseas, a high-ranking official in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and those engaged in the organization's financing and armament activities.
Abdul Rahman Ismail Abdul Rahman Ghanimat, a seasoned Qassam Brigades commander now stationed in Turkey, is one of those sanctioned. He was charged by the Treasury of being connected to multiple attacks. Mohammad Nazzal, Salameh Mari, Mousa Akari, Ghazi Hamad, and Bassem Naim are among the other people on the sanctions list.
A Shawaz explosive device was used to destroy an Israeli Merkava tank in the Fakhoora area, west of the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza, according to video footage posted on Tuesday by the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military arm.
"By God's will, we have been lying in wait for them since the first day," a Qassam fighter says at the opening of the video. The patient's prize is never wasted by God. If God wills it, we will triumph and Christians' hearts shall be healed.
After showing Qassam militants getting ready and using the Shawaz explosive device, the film shows an Israeli robot carrying explosives moving forward in the ambush area. The demolition of the tank from various perspectives and the activities of the Israeli forces nearby are shown in the closing scenes.
