The Department of Justice announced charges for six Hamas leaders over the October 7, 2023 attack.
According to a DOJ press release, the Hamas leaders were charged with counts of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion for their roles in “planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.”
“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,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “On October 7th, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians.”
“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. We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’ brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism,” Garland added. “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.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said 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 U.S. and against American interests throughout the world. Countering terrorism remains our number one priority, and our work continues.”
