US charges Hamas leaders over October 7 attack

The armed group’s political chief Yahya Sinwar has been charged with planning and carrying out terrorist attacks on Israelis and Americans

The US Justice Department has unsealed terrorism charges against the leaders of Hamas. The case stems from the Palestinian militant group’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which left some 1,200 people dead and more than 200 kidnapped into Gaza.

The FBI brought charges in February, but the complaint was kept under seal until Tuesday.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar and five other senior members were complicit in “planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities.” They were charged with providing funds and material support for terrorism, as well as conspiring to carry out bombings and “use weapons of mass destruction.”

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“For decades, Hamas and its leadership have dedicated themselves to the eradication of the State of Israel, and to murdering, maiming, and brutalizing anyone – including dozens of Americans – who stood in their way,” the DOJ said. It added that more than 40 American citizens were killed on October 7 and eight more were either abducted or remain unaccounted for.

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Apart from Sinwar, the DOJ has charged Hamas diaspora leader Khaled Meshaal and foreign affairs chief Ali Baraka, who are residing in Qatar and Lebanon, respectively.

Three of the Hamas officials wanted by the DOJ have since been killed. Former political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in July. Israel claimed that commanders Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa were killed during IDF airstrikes in Gaza. Hamas has refused to confirm their deaths, however.

According to Reuters, the DOJ had initially hoped to capture Haniyeh alive, but ultimately decided to unseal the charges following the news of his assassination.

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In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked the judges to issue arrest warrants for Haniyeh, Sinwar and Deif, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing the charges of war crimes.

Last year, South Africa lodged a case to the International Court of Justice, a separate judicial body, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 40,000 Palestinians were killed since the start of the conflict. Israel dismissed the accusations as “absurd.”