On Tuesday, the United States announced the filing of several criminal charges against Yahya Sinwar, the new leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The charges relate to his alleged planning, support, and execution of the unprecedented attack by the organization in southern Israel on October 7 of last year.
In addition to Yahya Sinwar, charges have been brought against at least five other Hamas leaders for their involvement in the attack. According to Israel, the attack resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
In retaliation for the October 7 attack, Israeli forces have launched a devastating campaign in the Gaza Strip starting from that day. According to Gaza's health ministry, over 40,800 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli assault so far, with the majority being women and children. Additionally, countless others have been injured in the attack.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press release that the defendants have led efforts to achieve Hamas’s goal of destroying Israel and killing civilians, with the support, funding, and weaponry of the Iranian government and Hezbollah.
Among the six Hamas leaders charged, three have been killed. The remaining three, in addition to Sinwar, are Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka. It is believed that Sinwar remains in Gaza. Khaled Meshaal resides in Doha, Qatar, and leads Hamas's foreign branch, while senior Hamas official Ali Baraka is based in Lebanon
The three deceased leaders are former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, former head of the military wing Mohammad Deif, and deputy military commander Marwan Issa. Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran, Iran, in July. Israel claims that Deif was killed in an airstrike in July, and Marwan was killed in another Israeli attack in March. Iran has blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death, though they have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice official, prosecutors filed the charges against the six leaders in February. However, the charges were not made public in hopes of apprehending Haniyeh. Following Haniyeh's death, the decision was made to advance the charges.
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