“Gaza Now” is accused of fundraising for Hamas. They themselves call the claims “false”.
Thursday 28 March at 10:39 am
With hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, Gaza Now publishes daily posts with videos, photos and news about the ongoing war in Gaza.
The news site is particularly popular on X/Twitter and Telegram, but it is also controversial. Israel and the US accuse it of being linked to Hamas.
The website itself and Mustafa Ayash, founder and editor, claim that Gaza Now is an “independent Palestinian media agency that has no political affiliation, either inside or outside Gaza.”
Neither the US nor the UK believe that.
Also read: VG in the air over Gaza: Apocalyptic
Accused of fundraising campaigns
Now the Americans and the British have joined forces to impose sanctions on the website and its founder Mustafa Ayash.
The reason is that Gaza Now is said to have run fundraising campaigns in support of Hamas after the attack on Israel on 7 October, writes The US Treasury Department in a statement.
The sanctions also include the companies Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Ltd. and their director Aozma Sultana. According to the US authorities, these must have collaborated with Gaza Now on fundraising campaigns.
The sanctions block them from accessing US banking systems, property and conducting trade with Americans.
– The United States and our partners will continue to ensure that Hamas will not be able to carry out further attacks, says US Deputy Treasury Secretary Brian Nelson in a statement.
On Telegram type Gaza Now that the sanctions are based on false allegations and on orders from Israel.
– It is based on lies and fraud to cover up the crimes of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians.
Raids and arrests in Austria
On Wednesday morning, Austrian police reportedly raided Ayash’s home. This is what the site claims on its Telegram channel:
“This morning Austrian authorities stormed the house of Mustafa Ayash, broke down his door and arrested him following Israeli incitement against the Gaza Now news channel and false claims about fundraising for Hamas,” a statement said.
The police are said to have confiscated Ayash’s mobile phone and laptop. They then allegedly shut down their channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
On Telegram, they have published pictures of the accounts on WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as what is supposed to be the front door of Ayash’s home:
Tags: Palestinian website sanctioned
