The US has charged several Hamas leaders in connection with the Palestinian group’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October last year.
The justice department said it was indicting six Hamas members with crimes including the murder of US citizens, conspiracy to finance terrorism and use of weapons of mass destruction.
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
Among those accused is Ismael Haniyeh, Hamas political leader who was killed in Iran in July, and Yahya Sinwar, who took over following Haniyeh’s death.
Other Hamas leaders charged include Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of the organisation’s armed wing; Khaled Mashaal, who leads the group outside Gaza and the West Bank; Mohammed Deif and Ali Baraka.
In a video statement, Mr Garland said the group were responsible for “financing and directing a decades long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the security of the United States”.
The group also “led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the state of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim”.
He noted the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, in which the group “murdered entire families”.
“They murdered the elderly and they murdered young children. They weaponised sexual violence against women.”
He added that during the attack the group “murdered over 1,200 people” and “perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
The charges also include conspiracy to bomb a place of public use resulting in death, conspiracy to finance terrorism and material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death.
The justice department’s complaint notes that all the “defendants are either deceased or remain at large”.
The attorney general referred in his remarks to the killing last week of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, in addition to 40 other American citizens killed in the 7 October attack and eight taken hostage.
“We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’ brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism,” he said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray added that Hamas is classified in the US as a foreign terrorist organisation “with a long history of violence, and the group’s actions have resulted in increased terrorism threats in the US and against American interests throughout the world”.
US officials also noted the role that Iran plays in supporting Hamas.
“Hamas’ attacks have played a significant role in the Government of Iran’s regional and global campaign of supporting terrorism to weaken and ultimately destroy both the United States and Israel,” the justice department’s statement alleges.
If convicted, the group faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or a death sentence.
