Fransan issued a decree freezing the assets of the leader of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, whom Israel considers the mastermind of the October 7 attack on its territories, for a period of 6 months according to a decree published today Tuesday in the official gazette.

The decree issued on November 30, which comes into effect on Tuesday, states that “the money and economic resources owned or controlled by Mr. Yahya Sinwar are subject to asset freezing.”

It was not immediately possible to contact the Ministry of Economy and Finance to determine the value of these assets, and in November, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Laurence Boone, called for European sanctions targeting senior Hamas officials, especially financial sanctions that may take the form of asset freezes.

And in a similar decree dated November 13, Paris announced that it would freeze for six months the assets of Mohammed Deif, the general commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Meanwhile, London also imposed sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans on six individuals: four Hamas leaders and two accused of funding the movement, including Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar.