Washington.– US courts have charged several Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas leaders, including current political leader Yahya Sinwar, with terrorism, according to court documents released Tuesday.
In total, six leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran on July 31, are charged with seven counts, including “conspiring to provide material support for terrorist acts resulting in death,” financing terrorism and conspiring to kill American citizens.
All of them were “responsible for planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist attacks” on October 7, 2023, on Israeli soil that left 1,205 people dead, mostly civilians, according to a count based on official Israeli figures, the Justice Department said. Among them, about 40 were American citizens.
They also kidnapped 251 people, of whom 97 are still held in Gaza and 33 were killed, according to the Israeli army.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a vast retaliation that has already left 40,819 dead in the Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Ministry of Health. In addition to Haniyeh, two other defendants are reported to have died, according to Israeli authorities. They are Mohammad Al Masri, alias Mohammed Deif, head of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, who was killed in southern Gaza last July. Likewise, Marwan Issa, “Abu Baraa”, deputy commander of these brigades, died in March also in the Gaza Strip. In addition to Sinwar, current Hamas political leader also known as “Abu Ibrahim”, Khaled Meshaal, alias “Abu al Waleed”, and Ali Baraka are also indicted. “The charges brought today are only one part of our effort to attack all aspects of Hamas’ operations. These actions will not be the last,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. “Yahya Sinwar and the other senior Hamas leaders are charged today with orchestrating this terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror, including on October 7,” she added. Designated a terrorist group by US authorities since 1997, the attacks a year ago precipitated the judicial persecution of Hamas leaders. “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,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the statement. Hamas, founded in 1987, seeks to create an Islamic Palestinian state and eliminate the state of Israel, for which it has the help of Iran, according to US authorities.
#accuses #Hamas #leaders #terrorism
