WASHINGTON (AP) — The US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other high-ranking militants in connection with the October 7 attack in Israel, marking the first attempt by US justice to prosecute the masterminds of the attack.
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Among the seven charges listed in the criminal complaint filed in a federal court in New York are conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder American citizens, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death. The complaint also accuses Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, that were used in the attack.
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The impact of the case could be mostly symbolic considering that it is suspected that Sinwar is hiding in tunnels and that at least two of the accused were believed to have been killed. However, federal authorities claim that they plan to have at least one person, who they did not identify, brought to New York to face criminal charges.
"The unsealed charges today are just a part of our efforts to go after all aspects of Hamas operations," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. "These will not be our last actions."
Sinwar was appointed as the top leader of Hamas after the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and is the most wanted man by Israel. It is believed that he has spent much of the last 10 months living in the tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, and it is unknown how much contact he has with the outside world.
Other Hamas leaders facing charges include: Marwan Issa, the number two in Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza who helped plan last year’s attack and who, according to Israel, was killed during an airstrike on an underground complex in the central region of the Gaza Strip last March; Khaled Mashaal, another deputy of Haniyeh and former leader of the organization; Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ longtime military leader who is believed to have died after an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza last July; and Ali Baraka, Hamas’ foreign relations chief.