WASHINGTON, United States, May 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The United States on Tuesday issued sanctions against four people associated with a humanitarian aid flotilla to the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza, accusing them of being "pro-terrorist."

Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Monday after it sailed from Turkey last week, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denouncing the mission as a "malicious scheme" intended to support Hamas.

The flotilla was part of the broader Global Sumud initiative, an international activist and humanitarian coalition that organizes civilian boats attempting to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza and challenge Israel's naval blockade of the territory.

"The pro-terror flotilla attempting to reach Gaza is a ludicrous attempt to undermine President (Donald) Trump's successful progress toward lasting peace in the region," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Despite a ceasefire, Israeli operations in Gaza have continued and the Palestinian territory continues to face a humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

US authorities said the sanctioned individuals were associated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group that Washington says works as a front for armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas.

Some were accused of association with the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which Israel and the United States accuse of being a front for armed groups.

The sanctioned individuals include Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin who was detained in Israel for several days earlier this month after Israeli forces seized him from a previous flotilla off the coast of Greece. He was deported on May 10.

Israel's foreign ministry has accused Abu Keshek of being a leading member of PCPA. An Israeli rights group that represented him in court denied this, arguing that he had resigned from the group more than a year ago.

The others to be sanctioned in connection with the aid flotillas included Belgium-based Mohammed Khatib, and Spain-based Hisham Abdallah Sulayman Abu Mahfuz and Jaldia Abubakra Aueda.

- Hamas sanctions -

As part of the same announcement on Tuesday, the United States also sanctioned several individuals and entities it accuses of supporting Hamas.

These included Marwan Abu Ras and the Palestinian Scholars Association that Washington said he leads. Abu Ras is accused of leading a body that aligns religious discourse in Gaza with Hamas's ideology.

Three individuals accused of being operatives of Hamas or HASM, an Egypt-based group accused of being a "violent offshoot" of the Muslim Brotherhood, were also sanctioned.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said those being sanctioned were "enablers" that Hamas uses "to sustain its position in Gaza, finance its operations, and engage in terrorist violence beyond its borders."

Israel's war on Gaza -- triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 -- reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble, with an estimated death toll of more than 72,000, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

More than 770 Palestinians have been killed since an October 10 ceasefire, according to the ministry.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.