Hamas Office Over Oct. 7 Deadly Attack”/>
THE United States has announced criminal charges against top Hamas leaders for their roles in planning, supporting and carrying out the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel. The charges against Yahya Sinwar and at least five others are for masterminding the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
The attack sparked an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and devastated much of the territory. The seven criminal charges include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.
They also accused Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, and military supplies. “As outlined in our complaint, the defendants led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the state of Israel and killed civilians in support of that goal,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“The charges revealed today are just one part of our efforts to target every aspect of Hamas operations. This action will not be our last,” Garland said.
“Yahya Sinwar and other senior Hamas leaders were charged today with masterminding the terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror, including on October 7,” he added.
The indictment names six defendants, three of whom were killed. The surviving defendants are Yahya Sinwar, believed to be hiding in Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group’s diaspora office, and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon.
Read also: Hamas Sends Delegation to Gaza Talks in Cairo
The deceased defendants were former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July in Tehran, military wing commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an airstrike in July, and Marwan Issa, deputy military commander, who Israel said was killed in a March raid.
Iran blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
U.S. prosecutors filed charges against the six men but kept them secret in the hope of arresting Haniyeh, a Justice Department official said. The Justice Department decided to make the charges public after Haniyeh’s death.
Read also: Ceasefire Still Stalled as Blinken Leaves Middle East
The criminal complaint describes the massacre as the most violent and large-scale terrorist attack in Hamas’s history. It details how Hamas members who arrived in southern Israel on trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats and paragliders engaged in a brutal campaign of violence that included rape, genital mutilation and machine-gun shootings at close range.
Garland said U.S. authorities were also investigating the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. His death was announced over the weekend along with five other hostages.
“We are investigating Hersh’s murder. Any brutal Hamas killing of an American citizen is an act of terrorism,” Garland said.
Also read: US Approves $312 Trillion Arms Package for Israel
The demands came as the White House said it was finalizing proposals for a new ceasefire and hostage settlement with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in a bid to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza.
National security spokesman John Kirby said the recent executions of six hostages underscored the sense of urgency in the mediation. In July, Hamas and Israel agreed in principle to implement a three-phase plan publicly proposed by Joe Biden in May.
Hamas has since said the latest version of the proposal has changed significantly from the original plan as new Israeli demands have been added, including permanent Israeli control over the Philadelphia corridor along the Egyptian border and a second corridor through Gaza. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out making concessions in the stalled talks or giving in to pressure to end the war. (The Guardian/Z-2)
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US Charges Hamas Leaders with Terrorism Offenses for October 7 Attack
The United States has announced criminal charges against top Hamas leaders for their roles in planning, supporting, and carrying out the October 7 attack in southern Israel. The charges against Yahya Sinwar and at least five others accuse them of masterminding the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
The attack sparked an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and devastated much of the territory [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1]. The seven criminal charges include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, “As outlined in our complaint, the defendants led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the state of Israel and killed civilians in support of that goal” [3[3[3[3[3[3[3[3]. He added, “The charges revealed today are just one part of our efforts to target every aspect of Hamas operations. This action will not be our last.”
The indictment names six defendants, three of whom were killed. The surviving defendants are Yahya Sinwar, believed to be hiding in Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group’s diaspora office, and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
The deceased defendants were former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July in Tehran, military wing commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an airstrike in July, and Marwan Issa, deputy military commander, who Israel said was killed in a March raid [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
U.S. prosecutors filed charges against the six men but kept them secret in the hope of arresting Haniyeh, a Justice Department official said. The Justice Department decided to make the charges public after Haniyeh’s death [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
The criminal complaint describes the massacre as the most violent and large-scale terrorist attack in Hamas’s history. It details how Hamas members who arrived in southern Israel on trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders engaged in a brutal campaign of violence that included rape, genital mutilation, and machine-gun shootings at close range [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
Garland also announced that U.S. authorities were investigating the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. His death was announced over the weekend along with five other hostages [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
The charges come as the White House is finalizing proposals for a new ceasefire and hostage settlement with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in a bid to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
National security spokesman John Kirby said the recent executions of six hostages underscore the need for a peaceful solution to the conflict [1[1[1[1[1[1[1[1].
This move by the US is seen as a major step in holding Hamas accountable for their actions and bringing justice to the victims of the October 7 attack.
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US Charges Hamas Leaders Over Deadly October 7 Attack in Israel
In a significant development, the United States has announced criminal charges against top Hamas leaders for their roles in planning, supporting, and carrying out the October 7 attack in southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans [[1]][[2]][[3]]. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.
The indictment names six defendants, three of whom were killed. The surviving defendants are Yahya Sinwar, believed to be hiding in Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group’s diaspora office, and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon. The deceased defendants were former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July in Tehran, military wing commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an airstrike in July, and Marwan Issa, deputy military commander, who Israel said was killed in a March raid.
The criminal complaint describes the massacre as the most violent and large-scale terrorist attack in Hamas’s history. It details how Hamas members who arrived in southern Israel on trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats, and paragliders engaged in a brutal campaign of violence that included rape, genital mutilation, and machine-gun shootings at close range.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the charges revealed today are just one part of the efforts to target every aspect of Hamas operations. “Yahya Sinwar and other senior Hamas leaders were charged today with masterminding the terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror, including on October 7,” Garland said.
The US also accused Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, and military supplies to Hamas. The Justice Department filed charges against the six men but kept them secret in the hope of arresting Haniyeh, a Justice Department official said. The Justice Department decided to make the charges public after Haniyeh’s death.
The attack sparked an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and devastated much of the territory. The US authorities are also investigating the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. His death was announced over the weekend along with five other hostages.
The demands came as the White House said it was finalizing proposals for a new ceasefire and hostage settlement with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in a bid to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza. National security spokesman John Kirby said the recent executions of six hostages underscored the sense of urgency in the mediation.
In July, Hamas and Israel agreed in principle to implement a three-phase plan publicly proposed by Joe Biden in May. However, Hamas has since said the latest version of the proposal has changed significantly from the original plan as new Israeli demands have been added, including permanent Israeli control over the Philadelphia corridor along the Egyptian border and a second corridor through Gaza. On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out making concessions in the stalled talks or giving in to pressure to end the war.
This development is a significant step in holding Hamas leaders accountable for their actions and signals a strong stance against terrorism. It remains to be seen how this will impact the ongoing Ceasefire talks and the future of the Gaza conflict.
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