The U.S. Offers Up to $10 Million Reward for Financial Information on Hamas

On Friday, January 5, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for any information that disrupts the financial mechanisms of the Hamas organization. The U.S., Canada, the UK, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. According to the State Department's announcement, this reward is part of the 'Rewards for Justice' program aimed at obtaining information about five Hamas financial facilitators named Abd al-Baset Hamza al-Hassan Khair, Amir Kamal Sharif al-Shawa, Ahmad Sado Jalab, Walid Muhammad Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmad Abd al-Daim Nasrallah. The U.S. State Department's statement notes that all five individuals have previously been designated as terrorists by the United States. The statement adds that Abd al-Baset Hamza al-Hassan Khair resides in Sudan, while Amir Kamal Sharif al-Shawa, Ahmad Sado Jalab, and Walid Muhammad Mustafa Jadallah all reside in Turkey. According to the statement, Muhammad Ahmad Abd al-Daim Nasrallah is a long-time Hamas operative, has close ties with Iranian entities, and has been involved in transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, particularly to the military wing of the group, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The U.S. State Department further stated that these rewards are offered for information about any source of income for Hamas, major financial contributors, financial entities facilitating Hamas transactions, companies providing dual-use technologies for Hamas, and profitable criminal schemes for Hamas. This is the fifth round of U.S. sanctions against Hamas following the terrorist attack by the group on Israel on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and over 240 hostages taken. The U.S. has sanctioned one individual and three entities facilitating the Islamic Republic's financial aid to the Houthis, several individuals linked to the Quds Force and Palestinian militia groups, and has imposed new sanctions against Hamas financing networks in several countries. The U.S. has also sanctioned a financing network for the Houthis in Yemen, as well as 'large networks facilitating military financial operations' of the Islamic Republic. New Australian sanctions against Hamas supporters have also been noted; Australia has targeted Hamas and its funding sources since 2001. Additionally, the U.S. has sanctioned several members of the Islamic Republic's proxy group in Iraq.