Argentina declares Hamas a terrorist group in a show of Israel's support

Buenos Aires, Argentina: President Javier Milei made a largely symbolic decision to identify Hamas as a terrorist organisation and impose a financial asset freeze on the Palestinian group on Friday in an effort to further align Argentina with the US and Israel. When announcing the decision, Milei's office pointed out the cross-border attack on Israel by the militant Palestinian group on October 7, which was the bloodiest strike in Israel's 76-year history, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 more.

The statement also mentioned Hamas' close ties to Iran, which Argentina blames for two deadly militant attacks on Jewish sites in the country.

The move comes just days before the 30th anniversary of one of those attacks, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. It killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more in the worst such attack in Argentina's modern history.

The other attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, in 1992, killed more than 20 people. Argentina's judiciary has accused members of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of carrying out the two attacks, PTI reported.

Friday's announcement professed Milei's “unwavering commitment to recognising terrorists for what they are”, adding that “it's the first time that there is a political will to do so”.

The US, European Union and several other countries long put a terrorist designation on Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before its current war with Israel.

Previous left-leaning Peronist governments in Argentina, home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, have maintained friendly ties with Israel but also voiced support for Palestinian statehood.

Since coming into office in December, Milei has set himself apart from even Israel's closest allies in his vocal support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A huge swell in global pressure has left Israel deeply isolated over its military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, displaced over 80 per cent of the territory's people and triggered a humanitarian disaster.

“Argentina must once again align itself with Western civilization," Milei's office said on Friday.

For his first state visit as president earlier this year, Milei flew to Jerusalem in a show of support for the Israeli government and promised to move his nation's embassy to the contested capital — drawing praise from Netanyahu and ire from Hamas.

Although raised a Roman Catholic, Milei says he has a deep spiritual connection with Judaism.