France has ordered a six-month freeze on the assets of the head of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be the architect of the October 7 attack on Israel, according to a decree published today in the Government Gazette.

“The funds and financial resources owned, held or controlled by Mr. Yahya Sinouar (…) are the subject of an asset freezing measure,” states the November 30 decree of Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, which is being put today in strength.

His ministry was not immediately available to clarify the amount of these assets.

Yahya Sinuar, 61, is the architect of the October 7 attack: that day, hundreds of Palestinian militants stormed kibbutzim, military bases and a rave party in Israel, which experienced the worst attack on civilians since its creation in 1948, with a death toll of 1,200 according to Israel.

According to Hamas, which runs Gaza, the shelling and fighting carried out by Israel since then has killed nearly 16,000 people, mostly civilians.

In November, the French undersecretary for Europe, Laurence Bunn had advocated the imposition of European sanctions targeting high-ranking Hamas officials, mainly financial, which could take the form of an asset freeze.

In a similar decree dated November 13, Paris had announced a six-month freeze on the assets of Mohammed Daif, who heads the military wing of Hamas and has been on the US list of most wanted “international terrorists” since 2015. The latter’s deputy Marouane Issa had also been targeted for sanctions.

For its part, London also imposed sanctions — asset freezes, arms embargoes, travel bans — on six people: four Hamas leaders and two people accused of funding the group, including Mohammed Daif and Yahya Sinuar.