Gaza War, News Today: US Accuses Hamas Leader of Terrorism

Conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization. To kill Americans. To use weapons of mass destruction. This is what the United States accuses the leaders of Hamas of. Theindictment against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other members of the group It was made public as American diplomats prepare to present Israel and Hamas with a final proposal for a deal that would lead to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave since the October 7 attack on Israel.

In addition to Sinwar, the charges concern three Hamas members: Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s now former political leader who was assassinated in late July in Tehran, Mohammed Deif, a military commander whom Israel claims to have killed in an operation in the Gaza Strip in mid-July, and Marwan Issa, deputy commander of Hamas’s armed wing who was killed in an Israeli operation in Gaza in March.

Of the six Hamas figures facing indictment in the United States, two others — in addition to Sinwar — are reportedly still alive. Khaled Meshal is described by U.S. officials as the head of Hamas’s diaspora office, which oversees the group’s activities outside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The other, Ali Baraka, is in charge of Hamas’s relations abroad.

The indictment, filed in February in New York federal court, cites the Oct. 7 attack and describes a plot dating back to 1997 to “kill United States citizens.” The Justice Department is also investigating the killing of 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was among the hostages and whose lifeless body was recovered last week in the Gaza Strip.

“During the attack (on October 7, 2023), Hamas terrorists killed civilians who were trying to escape and those who had fled to bomb shelters,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “They killed entire families. They killed old people and young people. They weaponized sexual violence against women.”

U.S. law allows the Justice Department to charge foreign nationals for killing Americans. And Garland has made clear in the past that the Department was investigating the killing of Americans by Hamas. A point he has returned to in recent hours. “We are investigating the killing of Hersh and all brutal killings of Americans as acts of terrorism,” he said. “We will continue to support the entire government’s effort to bring home the Americans still being held hostage.” “We want to see those responsible for the death” of Goldberg-Polin brought to justice, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said yesterday.

WSJ: “Draft deal meets many Hamas demands, Israel makes concessions”

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites negotiators in Washington and other capitals, the draft agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages that the negotiators are negotiating meets “most” of Hamas’ demands since Israel has made “many concessions.”

According to Biden Administration officials, again questioned by the economic and financial newspaper, most of the terms of the agreement have been agreed upon by the parties, but Hamas is the least willing to accept it. They also deny the news that came from Turkey yesterday about Washington’s possible withdrawal from the negotiations if a breakthrough is not reached within two weeks, claiming that The Administration is unlikely to back out of the talks because it wants to stop the war.

U.S. officials also said the next steps in the talks would involve a deepening of the so-called “bridge proposal” presented last month. Specifically, they are expected to unravel more details about how Palestinian hostage and prisoner exchanges will unfold, what could trigger a resumption of hostilities, and how long Israeli forces can remain along the Philadelphia Route, on the Gaza-Egypt border, to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into the enclave.