Sept. 3 (UPI) — Days after Israel’s military recovered the bodies of six hostages killed in Gaza over the weekend, the U.S. Justice Department announced terrorism charges against the six senior leaders of Hamas for their role in “planning, supporting and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities” in Israel on Oct. 7, and the “brutal murders of more than a thousand innocent civilians, including over 40 American citizens.”
The charges against Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka were unsealed Tuesday. Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in July. Sinwar, one of the alleged planners of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, took over as Hamas’ new political leader.
“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 security of the United States,” Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Tuesday.
Justice Department Announces Terrorism Charges Against Senior Leaders of Hamas pic.twitter.com/z8gS2lUGvV— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 3, 2024
“As outlined in our complaint, those defendants — armed with weapons, political support and funding from the government of Iran and support from Hezbollah — have led Hamas’ efforts to destroy the state of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim,” Garland said.
“On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists — led by these defendants — murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians,” Garland added. “This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered an additional six people they had kidnapped and held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli American.”
Garland warned these “actions will not be our last.”
“We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’ brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism. The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’ operations,” he said.
According to court documents, Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya — or Hamas — is a terrorist organization founded in 1987 and was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in 1997. Hamas’ stated purpose is to “create an Islamic Palestinian state throughout Israel by eliminating the state of Israel through violent holy war, or jihad.”
“Hamas is a Foreign Terrorist Organization with a long history of violence, and the group’s actions have resulted in increased terrorism threats in the United States and against American interests throughout the world. Countering terrorism remains our number one priority and our work continues,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The complaint unsealed Tuesday charges each of the six defendants, some of which are deceased, with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death; conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death and conspiring to murder U.S. nationals outside of the United States. All of these charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Additional charges include conspiring to bomb a place of public use resulting in death and conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death. Both of these charges carry a maximum penalty of death or life in prison.
The charge of conspiring to finance terrorism and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act both carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
“Yahya Sinwar and the other senior leaders of Hamas are charged today with orchestrating this terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror — including on Oct. 7. On that horrible day, Hamas terrorists viciously massacred nearly 1,200 innocent men, women and children, including over 40 Americans, kidnapped hundreds more, and used sexual violence as a weapon of brutality,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
“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,” Monaco added. “Our thoughts continue to be with the families of all the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack.”
