The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Gaza-based organizations and the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), along with United Kingdom-based Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi, over alleged covert support to Hamas under Executive Order 13224, as amended. The action targets what Treasury describes as Hamas’s use of purported civilian and diaspora-facing organizations to raise and route funds and support to its military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, including through organizing flotillas linked to Gaza. The Gaza-based entities are Waed Society Gaza, Al-Nur Society Gaza, Qawafil Society Gaza, Al-Falah Society Gaza, Merciful Hands Gaza, and Al-Salameh Society Gaza, described as organized by and integrated into Hamas’s military wing based on documentary evidence recovered from Hamas offices after October 7, 2023. OFAC cited direct funding and tasking by Hamas for several groups and alleged direct transfers to the Hamas military wing, including over USD 2.5 million transferred by Al-Falah over a recent three-year period. Separately, the PCPA was designated as a Hamas-controlled front that has organized flotillas and was allegedly established and managed by Hamas international relations operatives, with Treasury citing, among other support, USD 100,000 provided by Hamas for the PCPA’s inaugural meeting; Birawi was designated for materially assisting the PCPA. As a result, property and interests in property of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction or held by U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC, and entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. OFAC’s rules generally prohibit U.S. persons from dealing in the property or interests in property of blocked persons absent authorization, and Treasury flagged both strict-liability civil enforcement risk and potential secondary sanctions exposure for foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions for designated persons, while noting humanitarian activity remains subject to OFAC’s humanitarian general licenses.
U.S. Department of the Treasury 2026-01-21
U.S. Department of the Treasury's OFAC designates six Gaza-based charities, the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad and a UK-based official for Hamas support
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Gaza-based organizations, the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), and Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi for allegedly supporting Hamas under Executive Order 13224. This action blocks their property within U.S. jurisdiction and warns of enforcement risks for U.S. persons and foreign financial institutions involved in transactions with these entities, while humanitarian activities remain covered by OFAC’s general licenses.