Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza at this stage would be a mistake and that Israel will continue its war on Hamas whether or not it has international support.

“Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support,” said foreign minister Eli Cohen. “A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.” Cohen also called on the international community to act “effectively and aggressively” in order to protect global shipping lanes.

New sanctions

The US and the UK on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of sanctions on individuals in Turkey and elsewhere linked to the Palestinian Hamas militant group, the US treasury department said.

The sanctions target eight individuals who perpetuate Hamas’s agenda by representing the group’s interests abroad and managing its finances, the treasury said.

“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 funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the treasury for terrorism.

Several of the Hamas officials targeted were based in Turkey, including one of the group’s key financial operatives there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, the treasury said.

Haround Nasser Al-Din has been involved in a network that transferred money
from Turkey and Gaza to
the Hamas command centre
in the West Bank city of Hebron, it said and helped subsidise Hamas activities to
further unrest in the West Bank.

Nelson travelled to Oman and Turkey at the end of November to work on US efforts to deny Hamas and other groups the ability to raise and move funds.

The US and Britain earlier imposed three rounds of sanctions on Hamas.