Australia deploys more defense forces to Middle East, defense minister says
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser and Dhruv Tikekar
Richard Marles (L) attends a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo on October 19. Masamine Kawaguchi/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP
The Australian government is deploying more personnel and aircraft to the Middle East region as part of "Operation Beech," the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
Marles told CNN Affiliate Nine News Australia on Wednesday that the government sent an additional two military aircraft to the region, making a total of three.
"The deployment of Australian aircraft and supporting Defence personnel is a precautionary measure to support whole of Australian Government contingency options due to the risk of the security situation deteriorating further," Marles said on X, formerly known as Twitter Wednesday.
The military aircraft will be accompanied by "a significant number of personnel" to support their delivery and a "small command detachment," Nine News reported. He added that the Australian forces are not there for operational reasons but as a "contingency" to support Australians in the region.
He also described that the situation in the region is "challenging and rapidly evolving," adding that Australians who wish to leave are encouraged to take the first commercial option available to them.
1 hr 6 min ago
US military advisers invoke lessons of Iraq in urging Israelis to avoid all-out ground assault in Gaza
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann, MJ Lee and Katie Bo Lillis
American military officials are trying to steer Israel away from the type of brutal, urban combat the US engaged in against insurgents during the Iraq War, in an effort to keep the Israelis from getting bogged down in bloody, house-by-house fighting as they prepare for an assault on Gaza, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
In helping the Israel Defense Forces game out a number of different strategies to defeat Hamas, US military advisers on the ground in Israel are invoking lessons learned specifically from Fallujah in 2004, one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq War.
Instead of launching a full-scale ground assault on Gaza, which could endanger hostages, civilians, and further inflame tensions in the region, US military advisers are urging Israelis to use a combination of precision airstrikes and targeted special operations raids.
They are also drawing on strategies developed during the battle by US-led coalition forces to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS, which relied more heavily on special operations forces. Like Hamas, ISIS built tunnels throughout Mosul and used civilians as human shields, and the fight to retake the city was harder and more drawn-out than anticipated.
To help deliver this message, the Biden administration has sent a three-star Marine Corps general to counsel the IDF on planning its tactical assault. Gen. James Glynn, the former commander of Marine Forces Special Operations Command, has significant experience with urban warfare in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah, where he commanded troops during some of the bloodiest fighting there between US forces and insurgents, officials said.
International community struggles to find consensus as crisis deepens in Gaza. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, the international community has struggled to find consensus.
Emotions ran high at the UN Security Council on Tuesday after Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" saying that "clear violations of international humanitarian law" are being witnessed in Gaza.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, writing on social media, called on Guterres "to resign immediately" after his remarks and said he was "not fit to lead the UN." And Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the United Nations on Tuesday, said he would not meet with Guterres and that "there is no place for a balanced approach."
Rising death toll: At least 2,000 children have been killed in Gaza over 17 days, according to aid group Save the Children. And in the previous 24-hour period, over 700 people in Gaza had been killed, the highest daily number published since Israeli strikes in Gaza began two and a half weeks ago, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Tuesday.
Growing calls for ceasefire: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming." He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”
Crisis in Gaza: As fuel needed to run water systems runs out, some Gazans have been forced to drink dirty, salty water, sparking concerns of a health crisis and fears that people could start dying from dehydration. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says it will be forced to halt its operations in Gaza by Wednesday night if no fuel is delivered to the territory.
Within Hamas: Intelligence shared with the US suggests a small cell of Hamas operatives planning the surprise attack on Israel communicated via a network of hardwired phones built into the network of tunnels underneath Gaza over a period of two years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The US is also stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hostage situation: Talks are currently underway to try to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, two sources familiar with the matter and one Western diplomat familiar with the deliberations told CNN, but the talks are being complicated by a number of factors. A White House National Security Council spokesperson said Tuesday it would be "imprudent and irresponsible" not to have plans to evacuate Americans.
Ground offensive: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel’s fight against Hamas “could be a long war,” as the IDF prepares to mount a ground offensive into Gaza. Netanyahu appeared to tell soldiers on Tuesday a ground offensive "is coming" amid a growing sense of military delay.
40 min ago
Queen Rania of Jordan accuses West of "glaring double standard" as the death toll rises in Gaza
From CNN's Sana Noor Haq and Claire Calzonetti
Queen Rania of Jordan speaks during an interview with CNN. CNN
Queen Rania of Jordan has accused Western leaders of a “glaring double standard” for failing to condemn the deaths of civilians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, as Israel’s war on Hamas threatens to destabilize relations between US and Arab leaders.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview, Rania said, “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world.”
“When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened … but what we’re seeing in the last couple of weeks, we’re seeing silence in the world,” she told CNN.
Israel declared a “complete siege” on Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave, that killed more than 1,400 people and saw over 200 taken hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The siege has resulted in relentless airstrikes on densely-inhabited Gaza, and a blockade on vital supplies – including food and water – to the isolated strip’s entire population.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Queen Rania added. “So the silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.”
“Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s OK to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here,” she said. “It is just shocking to the Arab world.”
UN secretary-general: Hamas attacks on Israel "did not happen in a vacuum"
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Richard Roth
Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the United Nations headquarters on September 13, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/VIEWpress/Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” during his remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East Tuesday.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said, adding that Palestinians “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence.”
At the same time, Guterres noted that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.” He added that Palestinian people should not be collectively punished for Hamas' attacks, either.
Therefore, according to Guterres, all parties of the conflict should “take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare civilians” as well as “respect and protect hospitals and respect the inviolability of UN facilities which today are sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians.”
Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming” as “the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount."
At least 35 of Guterres' UN colleagues working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the last two weeks, according to the secretary-general.
He said “the clear violations of international humanitarian law” are witnessed in Gaza, offering Israel's order for more than one million people to evacuate earlier this month as an example.
Guterres emphasized that the aid delivered to Gaza does not correspond to its enormous needs, including the fuel supplies that are about to run out “in a matter of days.”
He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”
2 hr 12 min ago
The Biden administration is "working tirelessly" amid Middle East conflict, vice president says
From CNN's Donald Judd
Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the most detailed comments she’s made on the subject since war broke out earlier this month.
“I do want to also acknowledge this very difficult moment that we are in, in the context of the world. In particular what’s happening in Israel, with the attack by Hamas, the Palestinians and all who suffer in that region of the world," Harris said Tuesday during remarks to the Center for American Progress Ideas Conference in Washington.
The vice president pointed to what she said has been “countless hours with our president, be it in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room, in classified briefings he has with everyone in our intelligence community and military leaders to civil society leaders."
"The one thing I can report back to all of you is that we are working, and our president is working tirelessly and around the clock," she said.
Harris also went on to detail the administration’s priorities in the conflict.
“One, we stand with Israel's right to defend itself, that we stand for the importance of understanding that we must prioritize humanitarian values, that the rules of war are abided, that there would be no intentional attack of civilians, that humanitarian aid be administered, that we do all that we can to ensure that there will not be an escalation, in particular by Iran's proxies in that region of the world," she said.
Harris also pledged that she and the president “hold on to the responsibility that I think we uniquely have — to represent the values that are about stability in the interest of peace, and we have not abandoned, and are still profoundly committed to a two-state solution.”
2 hr 12 min ago
Israeli official says Hamas will not let Americans leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing
From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan
Hundreds of Americans who are stuck on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing are not able to leave because “Hamas won’t let them out,” Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN.
“In many ways Hamas is keeping them hostage. I remember (Secretary of State Antony Blinken) raised that issue over a week ago before the (US) president was here and it was one of the issues that came up and we said from our point of view, we'll do everything we can to facilitate their immediate release.” Regev said.
Regev emphasized that the Rafah crossing is the only way out for Americans stuck in Gaza since the crossings on the Israel side “have been destroyed” and are “a war zone.”
Blinken previously confirmed that there are an estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza.
2 hr 12 min ago
US joins Gulf nations to target "secret" Hamas investment portfolio worth up to $1 billion
From CNN's Matt Egan
The United States is stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
The US Treasury Department is working with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations to target the Hamas investment portfolio, a US official said Tuesday. The other four members of the GCC are Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
In the wake of Hamas' terror attacks on Israel, US and Saudi officials on Tuesday in Riyadh convened an emergency meeting of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which includes the United States and the GCC nations.
There has been a redoubling of efforts to use the TFTC, which was created in 2017, to go after Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned militant groups, including by sharing relevant, timely and actionable information, the US official said.
That Hamas investment portfolio is likely valued at between $400 million and $1 billion, according to a US official. The portfolio is generating significant amounts of revenue for Hamas, the official said.
The US Treasury has said the global portfolio of investments includes companies operating “under the guise of legitimate businesses” in Sudan, Algeria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other nations.
“We cannot tolerate a world in which Hamas and other terrorist organizations’ fundraisers live and operate with impunity, abusing the financial system, to sustain their terror. The United States will not tolerate that world,” Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said during prepared remarks at the emergency TFTC meeting.
Nelson urged the Gulf nations to share more information on the parts of the Hamas financial ecosystem “vulnerable to disruption” and called on member countries to take action.
“From our perspective, not acting against Hamas and its terrorism is a disservice to the Palestinian people,” Nelson said. “From a financial standpoint, we can clearly see that Hamas has exacerbated economic hardships for decades in the Gaza Strip by diverting humanitarian assistance to support its campaign of terror, and we must publicly condemn these actions.”
2 hr 12 min ago
"No fuel to enter Gaza," IDF spokesperson says — contradicting earlier comments
From CNN’s Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem and Eve Brennan
Israel's military will not allow any fuel to enter Gaza because Hamas needs that fuel for its operational infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces said.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed fuel from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was "stolen by Hamas." Hagari was responding to a question about if Israel would consider allowing fuel into the strip if it were in exchange for hostages.
"Hamas needs fuel desperately, and after stealing from UNRWA, we will discuss the fuel with the world and if the hospitals are in trouble then they should address Hamas – they [Hamas] should fill the fuel for hospitals and citizens. And the world should demand Hamas to do so," Hagari said.
The comments appear to be at odds with earlier comments from the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, who said efforts will be made to provide access to fuel in Gaza where needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis but that the IDF would "not allow" the fuel to reach Hamas.
"We will make sure there will be fuel in places where they need fuel to treat civilians. We will not allow the fuel for Hamas so they can continue fighting against the citizens of Israel," IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a live TV address Tuesday afternoon.
Halevi did not provide any more details as to how the IDF could provide access to fuel to those most in need.
Emotions ran high at the United Nations on Tuesday as Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for a ceasefire, saying that "clear violations of international humanitarian law" were happening in Gaza. Israel's top envoy called on Guterres "to resign immediately" after his remarks and said he was "not fit to lead the UN."
The main UN agency working in Gaza said it will be forced to halt its operations later today due to a lack of fuel, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis as Israeli airstrikes killed more than 700 people in 24 hours, according to Palestinian officials.
US military advisers are urging Israel to avoid an all-out ground assault while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to tell soldiers Tuesday that a ground offensive was still on track, saying, "we stand before the next stage, it is coming."
Richard Marles (L) attends a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo on October 19. Masamine Kawaguchi/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP
The Australian government is deploying more personnel and aircraft to the Middle East region as part of "Operation Beech," the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
Marles told CNN Affiliate Nine News Australia on Wednesday that the government sent an additional two military aircraft to the region, making a total of three.
"The deployment of Australian aircraft and supporting Defence personnel is a precautionary measure to support whole of Australian Government contingency options due to the risk of the security situation deteriorating further," Marles said on X, formerly known as Twitter Wednesday.
The military aircraft will be accompanied by "a significant number of personnel" to support their delivery and a "small command detachment," Nine News reported. He added that the Australian forces are not there for operational reasons but as a "contingency" to support Australians in the region.
He also described that the situation in the region is "challenging and rapidly evolving," adding that Australians who wish to leave are encouraged to take the first commercial option available to them.
American military officials are trying to steer Israel away from the type of brutal, urban combat the US engaged in against insurgents during the Iraq War, in an effort to keep the Israelis from getting bogged down in bloody, house-by-house fighting as they prepare for an assault on Gaza, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
In helping the Israel Defense Forces game out a number of different strategies to defeat Hamas, US military advisers on the ground in Israel are invoking lessons learned specifically from Fallujah in 2004, one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq War.
Instead of launching a full-scale ground assault on Gaza, which could endanger hostages, civilians, and further inflame tensions in the region, US military advisers are urging Israelis to use a combination of precision airstrikes and targeted special operations raids.
They are also drawing on strategies developed during the battle by US-led coalition forces to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS, which relied more heavily on special operations forces. Like Hamas, ISIS built tunnels throughout Mosul and used civilians as human shields, and the fight to retake the city was harder and more drawn-out than anticipated.
To help deliver this message, the Biden administration has sent a three-star Marine Corps general to counsel the IDF on planning its tactical assault. Gen. James Glynn, the former commander of Marine Forces Special Operations Command, has significant experience with urban warfare in Iraq, particularly in Fallujah, where he commanded troops during some of the bloodiest fighting there between US forces and insurgents, officials said.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, the international community has struggled to find consensus.
Emotions ran high at the UN Security Council on Tuesday after Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" saying that "clear violations of international humanitarian law" are being witnessed in Gaza.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, writing on social media, called on Guterres "to resign immediately" after his remarks and said he was "not fit to lead the UN." And Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the United Nations on Tuesday, said he would not meet with Guterres and that "there is no place for a balanced approach."
Rising death toll: At least 2,000 children have been killed in Gaza over 17 days, according to aid group Save the Children. And in the previous 24-hour period, over 700 people in Gaza had been killed, the highest daily number published since Israeli strikes in Gaza began two and a half weeks ago, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Tuesday.
Growing calls for ceasefire: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming." He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”
Crisis in Gaza: As fuel needed to run water systems runs out, some Gazans have been forced to drink dirty, salty water, sparking concerns of a health crisis and fears that people could start dying from dehydration. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says it will be forced to halt its operations in Gaza by Wednesday night if no fuel is delivered to the territory.
Within Hamas: Intelligence shared with the US suggests a small cell of Hamas operatives planning the surprise attack on Israel communicated via a network of hardwired phones built into the network of tunnels underneath Gaza over a period of two years, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The US is also stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hostage situation: Talks are currently underway to try to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, two sources familiar with the matter and one Western diplomat familiar with the deliberations told CNN, but the talks are being complicated by a number of factors. A White House National Security Council spokesperson said Tuesday it would be "imprudent and irresponsible" not to have plans to evacuate Americans.
Ground offensive: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel’s fight against Hamas “could be a long war,” as the IDF prepares to mount a ground offensive into Gaza. Netanyahu appeared to tell soldiers on Tuesday a ground offensive "is coming" amid a growing sense of military delay.
Queen Rania of Jordan speaks during an interview with CNN. CNN
Queen Rania of Jordan has accused Western leaders of a “glaring double standard” for failing to condemn the deaths of civilians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, as Israel’s war on Hamas threatens to destabilize relations between US and Arab leaders.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview, Rania said, “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a glaring double standard in the world.”
“When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened … but what we’re seeing in the last couple of weeks, we’re seeing silence in the world,” she told CNN.
Israel declared a “complete siege” on Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave, that killed more than 1,400 people and saw over 200 taken hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The siege has resulted in relentless airstrikes on densely-inhabited Gaza, and a blockade on vital supplies – including food and water – to the isolated strip’s entire population.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Queen Rania added. “So the silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.”
“Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family, an entire family, at gunpoint, but it’s OK to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here,” she said. “It is just shocking to the Arab world.”
Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the United Nations headquarters on September 13, in New York City. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/VIEWpress/Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” during his remarks to the Security Council on the Middle East Tuesday.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said, adding that Palestinians “have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence.”
At the same time, Guterres noted that “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas.” He added that Palestinian people should not be collectively punished for Hamas' attacks, either.
Therefore, according to Guterres, all parties of the conflict should “take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare civilians” as well as “respect and protect hospitals and respect the inviolability of UN facilities which today are sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians.”
Guterres called the intensified strikes on Gaza by Israel “deeply alarming” as “the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount."
At least 35 of Guterres' UN colleagues working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were killed in the bombardment of Gaza over the last two weeks, according to the secretary-general.
He said “the clear violations of international humanitarian law” are witnessed in Gaza, offering Israel's order for more than one million people to evacuate earlier this month as an example.
Guterres emphasized that the aid delivered to Gaza does not correspond to its enormous needs, including the fuel supplies that are about to run out “in a matter of days.”
He reiterated his appeal for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an immediate release of all hostages “without conditions.”
Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the most detailed comments she’s made on the subject since war broke out earlier this month.
“I do want to also acknowledge this very difficult moment that we are in, in the context of the world. In particular what’s happening in Israel, with the attack by Hamas, the Palestinians and all who suffer in that region of the world," Harris said Tuesday during remarks to the Center for American Progress Ideas Conference in Washington.
The vice president pointed to what she said has been “countless hours with our president, be it in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room, in classified briefings he has with everyone in our intelligence community and military leaders to civil society leaders."
"The one thing I can report back to all of you is that we are working, and our president is working tirelessly and around the clock," she said.
Harris also went on to detail the administration’s priorities in the conflict.
“One, we stand with Israel's right to defend itself, that we stand for the importance of understanding that we must prioritize humanitarian values, that the rules of war are abided, that there would be no intentional attack of civilians, that humanitarian aid be administered, that we do all that we can to ensure that there will not be an escalation, in particular by Iran's proxies in that region of the world," she said.
Harris also pledged that she and the president “hold on to the responsibility that I think we uniquely have — to represent the values that are about stability in the interest of peace, and we have not abandoned, and are still profoundly committed to a two-state solution.”
Hundreds of Americans who are stuck on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing are not able to leave because “Hamas won’t let them out,” Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN.
“In many ways Hamas is keeping them hostage. I remember (Secretary of State Antony Blinken) raised that issue over a week ago before the (US) president was here and it was one of the issues that came up and we said from our point of view, we'll do everything we can to facilitate their immediate release.” Regev said.
Regev emphasized that the Rafah crossing is the only way out for Americans stuck in Gaza since the crossings on the Israel side “have been destroyed” and are “a war zone.”
Blinken previously confirmed that there are an estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza.
The United States is stepping up efforts to target a “secret” Hamas investment portfolio believed to be worth at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
The US Treasury Department is working with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations to target the Hamas investment portfolio, a US official said Tuesday. The other four members of the GCC are Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
In the wake of Hamas' terror attacks on Israel, US and Saudi officials on Tuesday in Riyadh convened an emergency meeting of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which includes the United States and the GCC nations.
There has been a redoubling of efforts to use the TFTC, which was created in 2017, to go after Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned militant groups, including by sharing relevant, timely and actionable information, the US official said.
That Hamas investment portfolio is likely valued at between $400 million and $1 billion, according to a US official. The portfolio is generating significant amounts of revenue for Hamas, the official said.
The US Treasury has said the global portfolio of investments includes companies operating “under the guise of legitimate businesses” in Sudan, Algeria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other nations.
“We cannot tolerate a world in which Hamas and other terrorist organizations’ fundraisers live and operate with impunity, abusing the financial system, to sustain their terror. The United States will not tolerate that world,” Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said during prepared remarks at the emergency TFTC meeting.
Nelson urged the Gulf nations to share more information on the parts of the Hamas financial ecosystem “vulnerable to disruption” and called on member countries to take action.
“From our perspective, not acting against Hamas and its terrorism is a disservice to the Palestinian people,” Nelson said. “From a financial standpoint, we can clearly see that Hamas has exacerbated economic hardships for decades in the Gaza Strip by diverting humanitarian assistance to support its campaign of terror, and we must publicly condemn these actions.”
Israel's military will not allow any fuel to enter Gaza because Hamas needs that fuel for its operational infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces said.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed fuel from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was "stolen by Hamas." Hagari was responding to a question about if Israel would consider allowing fuel into the strip if it were in exchange for hostages.
"Hamas needs fuel desperately, and after stealing from UNRWA, we will discuss the fuel with the world and if the hospitals are in trouble then they should address Hamas – they [Hamas] should fill the fuel for hospitals and citizens. And the world should demand Hamas to do so," Hagari said.
The comments appear to be at odds with earlier comments from the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, who said efforts will be made to provide access to fuel in Gaza where needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis but that the IDF would "not allow" the fuel to reach Hamas.
"We will make sure there will be fuel in places where they need fuel to treat civilians. We will not allow the fuel for Hamas so they can continue fighting against the citizens of Israel," IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a live TV address Tuesday afternoon.
Halevi did not provide any more details as to how the IDF could provide access to fuel to those most in need.
