Federal prosecutors charged six seniors Hamas Officers with terrorism and other crimes in relation to years of attacks on IsraelOct. 7, including manslaughter, according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The complaint, originally filed in February, named as defendants Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, as well as Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka.
Each man faces seven criminal charges: conspiracy to murder US citizens; conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death; Conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terror resulting in death; Conspiracy to detonate a bomb in a place of public use resulting in death; Conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death; conspiracy to finance terrorism; and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, embargo-theft charge.
The complaint also directly accuses Hezbollah, a group based in Iran and Lebanon, of supporting, supplying and training members of Hamas.
It is Oct. 7 represents several decades of alleged terrorist activity on the part of Hamas, which it called the organization’s “most violent, large-scale terrorist attack”.
“In the early morning hours of October 7, 2023, Hamas sent more than 2,000 armed fighters into the fields and towns of southern Israel, where they massacred more than a thousand people and kidnapped more than 200,” the complaint states, with Hamas fighters targeting 5,000 on Israeli settlements. continues to be accused of firing more rockets and weaponizing sexual violence on the ground.
“As of the date of this complaint, at least 43 American citizens have been killed, and at least ten American citizens have been taken hostage or remain unaccounted for,” it added.
In a statement released by the Department of Justice, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “Since that horrific day, we have worked to investigate and hold those responsible accountable, and until all those who kidnap or kill Americans are brought to justice. We will not rest. Our thoughts are with the families of all the victims of this barbaric attack.”
The complaint was kept under seal until this week in case federal authorities have a chance to make any arrests in the case, a Justice Department official said. CNN on tuesday.
Since the charges were filed, three of the defendants – Daif, Isa and Hanih – have been killed. Deif and Issa, both top military commanders, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in July and March, respectively. According to for Israel.
Haniyeh, a politician involved in the ceasefire talks, was assassinated in Tehran in July. Furious Iranian authorities blamed Israel, which has not accepted responsibility for his death.
“Following Haniyeh’s death and recent developments in the region, there is no longer a need to keep those charges under seal,” the official said.
Sinwar, 61, who was named Hamas’ political leader after Haniyeh’s death, is widely believed to have masterminded the October 7 attack. He spent more than two decades in an Israeli prison on four life sentences before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2011. He and Deif were designated international terrorists by the US in 2015.
Sinwar’s current location is unknown, but it is speculated that he has been underground in the tunnels of Gaza for about the past 10 months. Associated Press.
Meshaal, 68, was chairman of Hamas’s politburo from 2004 to 2017. He now heads Hamas’ diaspora office and is “effectively responsible for Hamas’ official presence outside the Gaza Strip,” according to the Justice Department. It is located in the queue.
Baraka, 57, is Hamas’s head of national relations abroad and from 2011 to 2019 was the group’s representative in Lebanon, where he is based, the department said.
The indictments were unsealed just days after six hostages kidnapped on October 7 were found dead in Gaza, sparking mass protests against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuGovernment of A one-day general strike was called across the country on Monday.
One of the hostages was a 23-year-old Israeli-American named Hersh Goldberg-Paulin, who, along with two other hostages, was to be released as part of the terms of a possible cease-fire deal.
“We are investigating Harsh’s murder, and every single one of Hamas’ brutal killings of Americans, as an act of terrorism,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The indictments unsealed today are just part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations. These actions will not be our last.
Netanyahu, who has promised the wholesale destruction of Hamas, has been accused of stonewalling the talks. President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that the prime minister was not doing enough.
More than 60 hostages are believed to be alive and 35 dead in Gaza.
In the months since October 7, Israel has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and displaced nearly 2.3 million residents of Gaza.
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