The charges, announced in New York, accuse them of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, murdering US citizens, and using weapons of mass destruction.The criminal complaint covers decades of alleged attacks by Hamas, including the recent assault on southern Israel nearly a year ago.
Attorney general Merrick Garland said in a video statement on Tuesday that these charges are part of a broader effort to target all aspects of Hamas’s operations.
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations. These actions will not be our last,” said attorney general Merrick Garland.
Justice Department Announces Terrorism Charges Against Senior Leaders of Hamas
The charges represent the first US law enforcement action against the ringleaders of the October 7 attack.
Among the other Hamas leaders charged are former leader Ismail Haniyeh; Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of the group’s armed wing; Khaled Mashaal, who leads Hamas outside Gaza and the West Bank; Mohammed Deif; and Ali Baraka. The justice department noted that all defendants are either dead or still at large. Haniyeh, Issa, and Deif have been reported killed in recent months in attacks attributed to Israel.
Garland said the defendants were responsible for “financing and directing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the security of the United States.”
He highlighted the group’s brutal actions, including the murder of elderly people, young children, and the use of sexual violence against women, including rape and genital mutilation.
“They murdered the elderly and they murdered young children. They weaponized sexual violence against women, including rape and genital mutilation,” said the attorney general.
He also added that the attack on Israel resulted in over 1,200 deaths, marking the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
“We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’s brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism,” Garland said.
If convicted, those charged could face life imprisonment or the death penalty. The charges were originally filed in February, but they were kept confidential until Tuesday to preserve the chance of capturing any of the accused, according to a justice department official who spoke anonymously to BBC.
US officials have suggested that at least one person, whose identity has not been revealed, is expected to be brought to New York to face prosecution.
Garland also referred to the recent killing of US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, along with 42 other American citizens killed in the October 7 attack and 10 others who were taken hostage. He said that the justice department is investigating these killings as acts of terrorism.
President Joe Biden had earlier condemned the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and others, stating that Hamas leaders would be held accountable for their crimes.
