The Department of Justice announced charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other militants over their alleged roles in the Oct. 7 surprise attack against Israel.
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. “These actions will not be our last.”
He went on to detail the atrocities inflicted on Israeli citizens.
“During the attack, Hamas terrorists murdered civilians who tried to flee and those who sought refuge in bomb shelters,” Garland said. “They murdered entire families, they murdered the elderly, and they murdered young children. They weaponized sexual violence against women.”
He also touched on the execution of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, connecting his murder with alleged wider plots to kill Americans.
“The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decadeslong campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,” Garland said.
“We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans, as acts of terrorism,” he continued. “We will continue to support the whole-of-government effort to bring the Americans still being held hostage home.”
Other Hamas members charged were Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza; deputy Khaled Mashaal; Mohammed al Masri; and Ali Baraka. Issa and Masri have both reportedly been killed this year. The DOJ complaint said at least one of them “is expected to be first brought
to and arrested in the Southern District of New York.”
The charges come after the Biden administration was chided by critics as scrutinizing Israel too much while leaving Hamas relatively unscathed despite the huge amount of military aid given to Israel.
Sinwar was already designated a terrorist by the DOJ in 2015.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
He is considered to be the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 surprise attack, serving as the leader of Hamas since 2017. He took over Ismail Haniyeh’s role as political chief after his assassination in Tehran last month.
Hamas militants were able to surprise and overwhelm Israeli border guards on Oct. 7, killing over 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, and kidnapping another 240.
