Hamas welcomes international agreement to sanction Israel over Gaza war

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas welcomed on Saturday a landmark international agreement reached in Colombia to impose sanctions on Israel over its ongoing destructive war on the Gaza Strip.

The deal was signed Wednesday during an emergency summit in Bogota, where representatives from more than 20 countries gathered to coordinate a legal and diplomatic response to what they described as Israel's escalating violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

In its statement, Hamas said the agreement lays out concrete steps – including halting arms transfers to Israel, reviewing bilateral treaties, and facilitating international investigations into alleged war crimes – and praised it as a bold stance against the siege and atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza.

“This is a living expression of global outrage at a time when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached unbearable levels due to massacres, mass starvation, and the systematic denial of basic necessities,” the group said.

Hamas urged the broader international community to build on the momentum and join efforts to “isolate the occupation, expose its crimes, and enforce further sanctions to help stop the genocide and protect innocent civilians.”

The Bogota meeting was convened by the Hague Group – a legal coalition of eight countries (Colombia, South Africa, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, and Senegal) formed in the Netherlands earlier this year to hold Israel accountable under international law.

The summit also brought together delegations from Türkiye, Brazil, Portugal, Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Uruguay, Bangladesh, Chile, Djibouti, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Palestinian representatives.

According to Anadolu reporters at the meeting, the agreement obliges participating countries to implement a range of coordinated measures, most notably a total ban on exporting or transferring weapons, ammunition, military fuel, and dual-use materials to Israel.

It also includes restrictions on vessels suspected of transporting military equipment to Israel, such as denying them entry to national ports or access to logistical services.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.