Hamas leaders face US charges for October 7 attack on Israel

The United States announced criminal charges on Tuesday against Hamas' top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting, and perpetrating the deadly Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.

The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group's chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.

"As outlined in our complaint, those defendants -- armed with weapons, political support, and funding from the Government of Iran, and support from (Hezbollah) - have led Hamas' efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The complaint names six defendants, three of whom are deceased. The living defendants are Sinwar, who is believed to be in hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group's diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon.

The deceased defendants are former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who the group says was assassinated in July in Tehran; military wing chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel says it killed in a July airstrike; and Marwan Issa, a deputy military commander who Israel said it killed in a March strike.

US prosecutors brought charges against the six men in February but kept the complaint under seal in hopes of capturing Haniyeh, according to a Justice Department official.

The Justice Department decided to go public with the charges after Haniyeh's death.

Reuters