The Justice Department announced criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other high-ranking masterminds behind the terrorist organization’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The seven-count criminal complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, is the first attempt by US law enforcement to hold Hamas’ leaders responsible for the attack that saw some 1,200 Israelis massacred and sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder US nationals and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, resulting in death.
Sinwar, a Hamas leader, was charged in connection with the Oct. 7, 2024. massacre. AFP via Getty Images
The DOJ has also accused Iran and Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, that were used in the attack.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Sinwar “and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States.”
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations,” he said. “These actions will not be our last.”
The case is largely symbolic as Sinwar is believed to be hiding out in underground tunnels in Gaza and at least two of the defendants named in the complaint are believed to have been killed.
However, US officials say at least one person, whom they did not name in the document, is expected to be brought to New York for prosecution.
Sinwar was handed the reins to Hamas following the death of its former leader, Ismail Haniyah — who was killed in Iran and is also named in the complaint. Sinwar, who tops Israel’s most-wanted list, is believed to have been holed up in the tunnels under Gaza for the last 10 months.
In addition to Sinwar and Haniyeh, also charged is Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza who helped plan last year’s attack and who Israel says was killed when fighter jets struck an underground compound in central Gaza in March.
Khaled Mashaal, another Haniyeh deputy and a former leader of the group; Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ longtime shadowy military leader, who is thought to be dead following an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July and Ali Baraka, Hamas’ head of external relations, are also charged.
The charges come after the White House has ramped up its efforts to secure a new ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas with its Egyptian and Qatari partners as the war enters its eleventh month, with an estimated 40,000 Palestinians killed.
A US official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press there was no reason to believe the charges would affect the ongoing negotiations.
National security spokesman John Kirby said the recent “executions” of six hostages, including one American, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, by Hamas “underscores the sense of urgency” in the talks.
