US charges Hamas leaders with killings on October 7 in Israel

2024-09-04 07:58:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other militants in connection with the October 7, 2023, killings in Israel.

The documents filed in federal court in New York City include charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in casualties.

"The charges announced today are just one part of our efforts to crack down on every aspect of Hamas' operations," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. "These actions will not be the last."

The allegations come as the White House says it is working with Egypt and Qatar on a new proposal to try to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the nearly 11-month war in the Gaza Strip. The proposal includes the release of hostages still being held by Hamas. A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press news agency that there is no reason to believe the allegations would affect negotiations.

National security spokesman John Kirby said the recent "executions" of six hostages, including an American, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, by Hamas "underscore the need for urgent action" in the talks.

Yahya Sinwar was appointed the general leader of Hamas after the assassination of the previous leader of this organization, Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and is at the top of the list of most wanted persons of Israel. He is believed to have spent most of the past 10 months living in tunnels in the Gaza Strip and it is not clear how much contact he has with the outside world.

Among the other Hamas leaders included in the indictment are Haniyeh, the deputy head of Hamas' armed wing in Gaza, Marwan Issa, who helped plan last year's attack, Haniyeh's aide Khaled Mashaal and the group's former leaders Mohammed al-Masri and Ali Baraka.

According to Israeli authorities, in the October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel by Hamas militants, which the United States has declared a terrorist organization, 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.

In the Israeli offensive against Hamas militants that followed the attack in southern Israel, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health authorities. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The war has caused great destruction and has forced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to leave their homes./ Voa