US issues sanctions on 'violent extremist' Israeli group for blocking aid into Gaza

The U.S. issued sanctions on Friday against an extremist group in Israel that it says repeatedly blocked humanitarian aid from getting to the Gaza Strip, preventing members of the group from entering the United States.

The sanctions were against specific members of a group called Tzav 9, who have been harassing, and damaging the convoys carrying the aid. The U.S. has been supplying humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians through a pier, and the Israeli government has allowed aid to be transported through border crossings via trucks.

The group represents a small subsection of the Israeli population, who want a strong military approach to the war with Hamas. The Biden administration previously sanctioned a militant group in Palestine.

“For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blockading roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including in the West Bank,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road ... The provision of humanitarian assistance is vital to preventing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening and to mitigating the risk of famine."

Miller claimed that the group looted and destroyed two trucks in May that were transporting humanitarian aid to women, men, and children in Gaza. 

“The Government of Israel has a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian convoys transiting Israel and the West Bank enroute to Gaza," Miller said. "We will not tolerate acts of sabotage and violence targeting this essential humanitarian assistance. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts, and we expect and urge that Israeli authorities do the same.” 

The group has rejected claims that they violently disrupt the shipments, claiming that Hamas was the organization that diverted a lot of the Gaza aid, and blasted the sanctions as “shocking," and “go against any American and liberal values," according to The Guardian. The sanctions will also freeze any properties or assets that the members have in the United States, and designates the group as a violent extremist Israeli group.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.