The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by American law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack. The seven-count criminal complaint filed in federal court in New York City includes charges of 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. It also accuses Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, and military supplies.
The impact of the case may be mostly symbolic given that Sinwar is believed to be hiding out in tunnels and the Justice Department says three of the six defendants named in the complaint are now believed to be dead, the AP reports. But officials say additional actions are expected as part of a broader effort to target the operations of a militant group that was designated in 1997 by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization and has been linked to a series of deadly attacks on Israel, including suicide bombings.
- The complaint was originally filed under seal in February to give the US time to try to take into custody the then-Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, but it was unsealed Tuesday after Haniyeh's death in July and other developments in the region lessened the need for secrecy, the Justice Department said.
- The criminal complaint describes the Oct. 7 massacre as the "most violent, large-scale terrorist attack" in Hamas' history. It details how Hamas operatives who arrived in southern Israel with "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.
- "The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. "These actions will not be our last."
- The charges come as the White House says it is developing a new ceasefire and hostage deal proposal with its Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to try to bring about an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza.
- A US official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, told the AP there was no reason to believe the charges would affect the ongoing negotiations.
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