Politics

Japan imposes new sanctions on 3 senior Hamas leaders

Tokyo, Dec 26 (EFE).- Japan on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Hamas, freezing assets of three senior officials of the Palestinian militant group.

Those sanctioned are current Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, its military commander Mohamed Deif, who is considered the mastermind of the Oct.7 attacks against Israel, and his deputy Marwan Issa, Japanese government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi.

The new sanctions were approved during a cabinet meeting and is in line with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, said the spokesperson.

The sanctions are related to the multi-pronged attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and it was believed that they had access to Hamas funds to finance it, Hayashi said.

The spokesperson added that Japan would consider imposing additional sanctions on more individuals and entities linked to Hamas to cut off their access to funds that finance terrorist activities.

The new Japanese sanctions on senior Hamas officials came after the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom announced similar measures in recent weeks.

The Oct. 7 attack triggered the war between Hamas, which de facto rules the strip, and Israel, after Palestinian militants stormed through the Gaza border to launch multi-pronged assault across southern Israel.

The militants killed some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducted around 240.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza, killing more than 20,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry. EFE

Japan has maintained ostensibly a balanced diplomatic stance in the Gaza conflict even as Japanese people have held demonstrations calling for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged strip.

Japanese protesters have demanded the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and end to Israeli hostilities in the Palestinian territories.

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