Crypto Wallets of Palestinian Media Group Gaza Now Sanctioned by US and UK

By: Isha Das

The Palestinian news network Gaza Now has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over allegations of supporting Hamas. Numerous crypto addresses linked to Gaza Now and related parties, including an empty Bitcoin address, two Ethereum addresses holding over $2,690 and five Tether addresses holding more than $10,350, have also been designated.

The sanctions follow reports that Gaza Now allegedly aided Hamas's fundraising efforts subsequent to the attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. The sanctions were further supported by the UK, resulting in a full asset freeze. Consequently, any form of business and transactions involving the assets of the sanctioned parties are generally prohibited in both countries.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that Gaza Now had received $21,000 in crypto post the assaults, which included $2,000 that were frozen by exchanges and $9,000 in Tether frozen by the company.