US sanctions imposed

House search at Hamas supporter in Linz

The Linz public prosecutor's office is investigating terrorism financing.(Bild: Wikimedia Commons/Kiwi63/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The USA and Great Britain have imposed sanctions on the online platform "Gaza Now" and its founder for allegedly supporting the terrorist organization Hamas. The man lives in Linz. His home was raided and he is being investigated for financing terrorism.

"This morning, the Austrian authorities raided the home of Mustafa Ayash, director of the Gaza Now news agency," wrote "Gaza Now" on the X platform on Thursday. His personal belongings, including laptops and cell phones, as well as his bank accounts were confiscated.

Suspicion of terrorist financing
The Linz public prosecutor's office confirmed to krone.at that a search had been carried out at the home of the self-confessed journalist. Contrary to what "Gaza Now" claimed, however, there was no arrest. "An investigation has been initiated on suspicion of terrorist financing," a spokeswoman explained. She also confirmed seizures. She was unable to provide details, but the seized items are now being evaluated.

The Linz public prosecutor's office is investigating the financing of terrorism.(Bild: Wikimedia Commons/Kiwi63/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The USA and Great Britain imposed sanctions against 31-year-old Ayash on Wednesday because he supports Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. After the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, his online platform launched an appeal for donations for Hamas. The Arabic channel "Gaza Now" has more than 300,000 followers on Platform X and several hundred thousand subscribers on Telegram.

Assets frozen
Mustafa Ayash's assets in the USA and the UK have been frozen and he is no longer allowed to do business with US or British citizens. The US and its partners would "continue to use their resources to disrupt Hamas' ability to carry out further attacks", according to the US Treasury Department.

"Gaza Now" also claimed that the Austrian authorities had also blocked Ayash's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. However, Mustafa Ayash himself came forward on his X account on Friday and rejected the allegations as "lies" by the Israelis.

Has already been declared dead
The allegations made by "Gaza Now" are not the first false reports about Mustafa Ayash. In December 2023, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - headed by Austrian Volker Türk - published a press release on journalists killed in the Gaza war. According to the press release, Ayash and at least eight members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike. However, he has been active on social media ever since.

FPÖ sharply criticizes the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Upper Austria's FPÖ leader Manfred Haimbuchner raised the question on Friday as to how the man was able to stay in Linz unchallenged for a long period of time. "The fact that people like this are staying in the middle of Austria is not only a massive security threat to our population, it is also an absolute indictment of the protection of the constitution," criticized Haimbuchner in a press release. Instead of "criminalizing law-abiding fraternity members", one should "take a look at the Islamic threats in this country. Unlike the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, these gentlemen are not asleep."