JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - The US Department of Justice has charged three senior Hamas leaders over their role in planning and perpetrating the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
The U.S. prosecutors unsealed seven charges against Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka.
The charges include terrorism, conspiracy to murder US citizens, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, and sanctions-evasion.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in Iranian capital Tehran in July.
Yahya Sinwar is the new political head of the Palestinian militant outfit, replacing Ismail Haniyeh.
Mohammad Al-Masri was the commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. IDF says he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 13 in the Gaza Strip.
Marwan Issa, who was the deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 10, according to the US Department of Justice.
Qatar-based Khaled Meshaal is the head of Hamas' diaspora office - effectively responsible for its official presence outside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Ali Baraka, based in Lebanon, has been Hamas' head of National Relations Abroad.
'The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,' said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, 'Since that horrific day, we have worked to investigate and hold accountable those responsible, and we will not rest until all those who kidnapped or murdered Americans are brought to justice.'
Nearly 1200 people, including 40 Americans, were killed and hundreds of civilians were kidnapped in cross-border attack carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7 in southern Israel. Last weekend, Palestinian militants murdered six hostages who have been held captive for nearly a year. The victims included 23 year old Israeli American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The complaint unsealed Tuesday alleges that Hamas has received tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency contributions from supporters abroad, including in the United States, to fund its activities.
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