US unseals 'terrorism' charges against Hamas leaders

The United States unsealed a raft of "terrorism" and other charges against six Hamas leaders on Tuesday related to the armed Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The charging document, dated February 1, targets six leaders of the group -- including Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and late political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in late July in Tehran.

They are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.

The charges were filed under seal "to position the United States to be ready to take into custody" Haniyeh and the other defendants, a Justice Department official said in a statement.

The official cited Haniyeh's death -- which Hamas and Iran say was an Israeli assassination -- and unspecified "recent developments in the region," as reasons for the unsealing.

Hamas, which has been designated a "terrorist organization" by Washington since 1997, launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the brutal ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Palestinian group.

The attacks killed at least 43 American citizens, according to the complaint, and resulted in at least 10 Americans being taken as hostages or missing.

"The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas's operations. These actions will not be our last," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

- 'Mass violence' -

Garland said that US authorities were also investigating the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.

His death was announced over the weekend along with five other hostages.

"We are investigating Hersh's murder, and each and every one of Hamas's brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism," Garland said.

Charged along with Sinwar and Haniyeh was Mohammad Al-Masri, the former commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades who is believed to have died in July.

Also charged was Marwan Issa, who was the deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades from approximately 2007 until his reported death earlier this year.

Qatar-based Khaled Meshaal, the head of the group's diaspora office responsible for overseeing Hamas's presence outside of Gaza, was also charged.

The final man charged was Ali Baraka, Hamas's head of National Relations, who is also based outside of Gaza.

Israeli commanders believe most-wanted Sinwar, 61, is hiding in a labyrinthine maze of tunnels that Hamas has built under the Gaza Strip over the years.

The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people overall, mostly civilians and including and hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's campaign against Hamas has so far killed at least 40,819 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.