Trump Admin Eyes Fresh Hamas Sanctions Under ‘Human Shield’ Law That Biden Admin Ignored

‘The Treasury Department is proud to use every tool available to us’ to target Iran-backed terrorists, spokesman says

The Trump administration is eyeing fresh sanctions on Hamas over the terror group’s use of Gazan civilians as human shields—and using a longstanding law that the Biden administration ignored to do so, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

During President Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House, in 2018, Congress passed a law requiring the president to sanction terrorist entities, including Hamas and Hezbollah, that use “innocent civilians as human shields.” In the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, lawmakers amended the legislation to include mention of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and to compel the Department of Defense to submit a report on its work “hold[ing] accountable terrorist organizations for the use of human shields.”

Biden, who repeatedly condemned Hamas for using human shields, signed the law as part of an April 2024 package that provided emergency aid to both Israel and Ukraine. But his administration never unveiled sanctions that cited the law and never submitted the human shields report to Congress, according to a senior Senate aide, prompting bipartisan criticism. Now, Treasury and State Department officials are pledging to reverse course as part of a broader “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign on Tehran and its terror proxies.

The push comes as Hamas struggles to pay its rank-and-file fighters amid a halt in humanitarian aid that Hamas seizes and sells to generate funds. Additional sanctions, then, could further bankrupt Hamas.

The powers granted under the human shield law allow the Trump administration to target any terror leader who has authorized the use of human shields, giving the administration broad flexibility to sanction virtually anyone tied to the practice—past and present. Penalties could include the seizure of all property and assets belonging to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members. Though some of those penalties are in effect through existing sanctions, the Treasury Department said it is keen to use “every tool available” to ensure Hamas gets no reprieve from punitive measures.

“It comes as no surprise that the Biden Administration enabled these terrorists through inaction, but we are pleased to be reversing course in order to keep Americans and our allies safe,” a Treasury spokesman told the Free Beacon in a statement.

“The Treasury Department is proud to use every tool available to us, working in close coordination with the entire Trump Administration to hold Hamas and other terrorists accountable for horrific actions which clearly violate U.S. and international law.”

A State Department representative echoed that rhetoric, saying Hamas’s “use of civilians or civilian objects to shield or impede military operations is itself a violation of international humanitarian law” that would be met with punitive measures.

The issue was first raised during former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s confirmation hearing as ambassador to Israel. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who authored the 2018 human shield sanctions law, asked Huckabee in writing whether he would “commit to fully enforcing sanctions against Hamas for the use of human shields.” Huckabee said he would, according to a copy of Cruz’s written questions obtained by the Free Beacon.

“If confirmed, I will be fully committed to supporting the enforcement of sanctions not only against Hamas but also for the terrorist’s group’s use of human shields,” wrote Huckabee.

Both Cruz’s law and the 2024 legislation that strengthened it attracted Democratic cosponsors. So did a November 2023 letter from former GOP congressman Mike Gallagher that criticized the Biden administration for failing to impose human shield sanctions on Hamas. The administration, Gallagher and Rep. Brad Sherman (D., Calif,) wrote, “has taken measures to combat Hamas and Hezbollah in recent years” but “has yet to sanction Hamas and Hezbollah leaders for their use of human shields.”

“Imposing such sanctions would make clear that the U.S. government does not tolerate the use of human shields and would encourage like-minded countries to take similar measures against this war crime,” the lawmakers said.

Cruz told the Free Beacon he has since raised the issue with the Trump administration to ensure it is aware of the additional sanction mechanisms at its disposal.

“President Biden himself admitted that Hamas terrorists use human shields, but Biden officials never enforced the mandatory sanctions,” Cruz said. “The reason they didn’t is because they were committed to criticizing and undermining our Israeli allies, and imposing the sanctions would have required them to acknowledge that Hamas, not Israel, was responsible for Palestinian civilian casualties.”

A longtime sanctions expert who is working with the administration on the matter and was not authorized to speak on the record about prospective plans told the Free Beacon that human shields sanctions would be part of a broader set of measures brought to bear against Hamas, with the idea being to build an overlapping set of sanctions that would be difficult for the group to skirt.

A senior U.S. official who works on Middle East issues confirmed that intention to the Free Beacon.

“Whereas the last administration was OK with letting them off the hook, President Trump will not standby and will enforce sanctions on Hamas terrorists,” according to the senior U.S. official. “The Biden administration failed to enforce sanctions on Hamas’ use of human shields—a disgusting practice that continues.”