U.S. charges senior Hamas leaders with deaths of Americans in Israel
Washington — Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against senior Hamas leaders for the deaths of at least 43 American citizens in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to charging documents unsealed Tuesday.
Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,200 people on Oct. 7, and kidnapped about 250 individuals in Israel. In December, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was investigating the attacks.
"As of the date of this Complaint, at least 43 American citizens were among those murdered, and at least 10 American citizens were taken hostage or remain unaccounted for," the criminal complaint filed Monday said.
Prosecutors charged the six defendants for conduct leading up to and following the Oct. 7 attack, including terrorism, murder conspiracy and sanctions evasion. The defendants were identified as Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas; Ismail Haniyeh, the former chairman of Hamas's Politburo; Mohammad Al-Masri, the commander-in-chief of the al-Qassam Brigades; Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades; Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas' diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, Hamas' head of National Relations Abroad.
Haniyeh, Al-Masri and Issa are deceased, and the remaining three are at large.
"The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations. These actions will not be our last," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces said six Hamas-held hostages were found dead in Gaza, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was laid to rest Monday. Israeli officials said they had been killed shortly before being discovered in a tunnel in the Rafah area. Seven Americans are believed to be among those still being held hostage.
"We are investigating Hersh's murder, and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans, as acts of terrorism. We will continue to support the whole of government effort to bring the Americans still being held hostage home," Garland said.
More than 40,000 people — including many Palestinian civilians — have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military response to the Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Dual U.S.-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger was among the seven aid workers who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in April.
Haniyeh was killed earlier this month in Iran after he attended the inauguration of the country's new president, Iranian officials and the militant group said. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for the strike that killed Haniyeh.
According to a Justice Department official, the charges against the Hamas leaders were filed in February in a federal court in New York City and were kept under seal "to position the United States to be ready to take into custody the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and other charged defendants."
"Following Haniyah's death and recent developments in the region, it was no longer necessary to keep those charges under seal," the official said.
The 38-page complaint accuses all six defendants of crimes preceding the Oct. 7 attack, some as early as 2001. The terrorist organization was founded in 1987 but was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. a decade later. The charging documents describe in detail the execution and aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks.
"From the outset of the October 7 Hamas Massacres, and in the time since, the defendants have made an array of public statements indicating their support for, and involvement as members of Hamas's leadership in planning and perpetrating, the attacks," investigators wrote.
Court documents made numerous references to Hamas' ties to Iran and Hezbollah and accused the defendants of orchestrating and financing an international terror campaign.
On Sunday night, massive protests erupted on the streets of Israel after the bodies of the six Hamas-held hostages were found.
Thousands attended the funeral of one of the hostages, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The impact on ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas was not immediately clear. Both sides are still talking through mediators, including Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. President Biden and Vice President Harris met with advisers in the White House Situation Room Monday.
One of the biggest recent sticking points of a potential deal has been whether Israel would agree to withdraw troops from a border area between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor.