The European Union on Tuesday added leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, to its list of sanctioned terrorists due to his alleged involvement in the October 7 attacks on Israel.

This move entails freezing Mr Sinwar’s assets within the 27-nation bloc and prohibits EU citizens from engaging in transactions with him.

Hamas, the Palestinian IIslamist resistance movement, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the EU and the United States. The majority of countries around the globe however recognise Hamas as an armed resistance group fighting Israeli occupation. The United Nations Security Council has also refused to designate the militant group as terrorist.  

Figures of casualties from the October 7 attacks continue to be reviewed by Israeli military and domestic paramilitary agencies. Israel claims at least 1,140 deaths according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Additionally, around 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza, with 132 still reportedly in Palestinian territory, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the EU’s decision, stating that it was a result of diplomatic efforts aimed at undermining Hamas’s resources, delegitimising the organisation, and preventing support for it.

Mr Katz emphasised a commitment to eradicating the root of the issue, both in Gaza and wherever it emerges.

Mr Sinwar, aged 61, has not been seen since October 7, and Israel’s military has declared him a “dead man walking.” The EU’s decision aligns with the United States’ designation of Mr Sinwar as one of the most wanted “international terrorists” in 2015.

The EU has faced challenges in formulating a unified response to the Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent large scale massacre of innocent civilians, figures now nearing 30,000 including more than 10,000 children in the Gaza Strip.