Washington
CNN
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The US Division of Justice has charged a number of senior Hamas leaders over the October 7 terrorist assault, in response to a legal grievance unsealed Tuesday.
The indictment is the primary legal step by the Justice Division to carry folks accountable for the assault in Israel.
The 5 defendants – Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka – are going through seven fees, together with terrorism fees, conspiracy to homicide US nationals and conspiracy to make use of weapons of mass destruction leading to dying.
The defendants are high-level Hamas officers, together with Sinwar who’s the terrorist group’s chief in Gaza and one of many planners of the October 7 assault.
The grievance, which spans throughout a number of many years of alleged terrorist acts from Hamas, focuses partially on the October 7 assault in opposition to Israel.
Prosecutors element how the brutal onslaught unfolded that day and the defendants’ involvement, considered one of whom is the alleged chief of Hamas’s militia group.
“On October 7, 2023, Hamas dedicated its most violent, large-scale terrorist assault up to now,” the grievance says, detailing how “within the early morning hours … Hamas despatched greater than 2,000 armed fighters into farms and cities in southern Israel, the place they carried out the massacres of over a thousand folks and the kidnappings of greater than 200 others.”
The grievance continued, saying that “throughout the October 7 Hamas Massacres, Hamas terrorists weaponized sexual violence in opposition to Israeli girls, together with rape and genital mutilation.”
“As of the date of this Criticism, a minimum of 43 Americans have been amongst these murdered, and a minimum of ten Americans have been taken hostage or stay unaccounted for,” prosecutors say.
These senior members of Hamas charged known as for mass terrorist assaults and celebrated the October 7 assault, prosecutors say.
The costs have been initially filed on February 1, 2024, however saved beneath seal in case the Justice Division had the chance to arrest any of the defendants, a Justice Division official stated Tuesday.
“Following Haniyah’s dying and up to date developments within the area, it was now not essential to maintain these fees beneath seal,” the official stated.
Three of the Hamas leaders charged are deceased.
Garland says US investigating homicide of 23-year-old Israeli American
The announcement comes on the heels of the confirmed dying of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Gaza, which prompted President Joe Biden and different high US officers to vow that Hamas leaders can be held accountable.
“We’ll weigh different actions as acceptable,” a senior administration official stated, however declined to elaborate.
Biden stated over the weekend that Goldberg-Polin’s dying was “as tragic as it’s reprehensible.”
“Make no mistake, Hamas leaders can pay for these crimes,” Biden stated.
In a recorded assertion, Lawyer Basic Merrick Garland stated that the Justice Division is investigating Goldberg-Polin’s homicide.
“We’re investigating Hersh’s homicide, and every one of many brutal murders of People, as acts of terrorism. We’ll proceed to help the entire of presidency effort to convey the People nonetheless being held hostage residence,” Garland stated.
Almost 1,200 folks have been killed on October 7, together with over 40 People. Tons of of civilians have been kidnapped.
The legal professional normal stated that the Hamas leaders, who he stated “led” the October 7 assault, are charged for “financing and directing a decades-long marketing campaign to homicide Americans and endanger the safety of america.”
“As outlined in our grievance, these defendants – armed with weapons, political help, and funding from the Authorities of Iran, and help from Hizballah – have led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the State of Israel and homicide civilians in help of that goal,” Garland stated.
The grievance detailed how Hamas and its leaders allegedly financed their terrorist operations by donations, “cryptocurrency, and transfers from the Authorities of Iran.”
“Hamas leaders, together with the defendants, have performed vital roles within the terrorist group’s solicitation of funding contributions in help of Hamas’s violent goals,” the grievance says, together with utilizing the October 7 assault on Israel to name for donations.
Based on the grievance, within the wake of the assault Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam, has “continued to solicit cryptocurrency and different financing after the October 7 Hamas Massacres on different social media platforms, particularly suggesting to followers strategies to keep away from interdiction by Israeli authorities, and has continued to obtain contributions by a minimum of one U.S.-based monetary expertise firm.”
Iran, prosecutors say, has performed “a essential and energetic position” in fundraising efforts for the militia, “by conventional money exchanges, cash transmitters … and cryptocurrency transactions.”
All of this, the grievance says, was to additional Hamas’s shared purpose with Iran “of annihilating Israel.”
Lately, Iran additionally elevated it’s funding to Hamas for intelligence over Israel’s missiles. This bump, prosecutors say, amounted to “roughly tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} a month.”
This story has been up to date with extra developments.
CNN’s MJ Lee contributed to this report.