The United States announced criminal charges on Tuesday against Hamas’ top leaders for their involvement in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
The charges target Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ chief, and at least five others accused of orchestrating the attack.
Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed that the defendants, with support from Iran and Hezbollah, have been leading efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, “As outlined in our complaint, those defendants — armed with weapons, political support, and funding from the Government of Iran, and support from (Hezbollah) – have led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim.”
The criminal complaint names six individuals, three of whom are deceased. The living defendants include Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, based in Doha and heading Hamas’ diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior official in Lebanon.
The deceased defendants include former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, reportedly assassinated in July in Tehran; Mohammed Deif, the military wing chief, who Israel says was killed in a July airstrike; and Marwan Issa, a deputy military commander killed in a March strike.
The charges were initially brought in February but were kept sealed until Haniyeh’s death, which led the Justice Department to make them public.
The October 7 attack triggered an Israeli assault on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,800 Palestinians and widespread destruction in the territory.
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