The United States has charged Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas, and five others with criminal charges on Tuesday. These charges are based on their roles in planning, supporting, and orchestrating the October 7, 2023, attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people.
The charges accuse them of facilitating foreign terrorist organizations, killing U.S. citizens, and using Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The complaint includes the attack by Hamas over a decade, including the recent one on southern Israel in 2023.
“On October 7, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians. This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered an additional six people they had kidnapped and held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli American,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
The Attorney General mentioned in a video statement on Tuesday that the charges are just part of the effort to target Hamas operations in every aspect and are not our last actions.
The other Hamas leaders charged are Ismail Haniyeh, Marwan Issa, Khaled Mashaal (who leads Hamas outside Gaza), Mohammad Dief, and Ali Baraka. However, most of the defendants are dead; Haniyeh, Marwan Issa, and Mohammad Dief were reportedly killed in a recent attack by Israel.
Garland reiterated that the defendants are responsible for endangering the security of America and financing and directing a decade-long campaign to murder American citizens. He also referred to the recent killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, along with the 42 American citizens killed on October 7.