New Zealand on Thursday declared that in light of Hamas’ horrific massacre of 1,200 people during its surprise invasion of Israel almost five months ago, it now considers all of Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

“The terrorist attacks by Hamas in October 2023 were brutal and we have unequivocally condemned them,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.

“What happened on 7 October reinforces we can no longer distinguish between the military and political wings of Hamas. The organization as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks,” added his foreign minister, Winston Peters, in the joint statement.

Wellington had previously made a distinction between Hamas’ military and political wings, outlawing the military side in 2010.

Israel has never made a distinction between the two, as they are so closely intertwined. The U.S., EU, UK, Canada and several other Western countries list all of Hamas as a terrorist entity as well.

New Zealand’s decision makes it a criminal offense to assist Hamas in any way financially or provide it with “material support.” It also freezes any of the group’s assets in the country.

Luxon was careful to differentiate between the country’s attitude towards the terror group and ordinary Palestinians.