US DOJ Charges Hamas Leaders Over Oct. 7 Attack on Israel

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Facts

  • The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that it was pressing charges against six senior leaders of Hamas, including the group's political leader Yahya Sinwar, for terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions evasion charges.[1]
  • The criminal complaint, which was filed in federal court in New York City, also accused Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons that were used in the attack. Charges were also brought against Hamas leaders who are thought to be dead, such as Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa.[2]
  • Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in late July, Khaled Mashaal, who used to lead the group, and Ali Baraka, the group's head of external relations, were also named. On Oct. 7 attacks, militants killed some 1.2K people and took about 250 people hostage.[3]
  • The complaint noted the deaths of at least 43 US citizens and 10 taken hostage. The charges were originally filed in February but kept under seal in case the DOJ had the opportunity to arrest any of the defendants.[4]
  • The announcement comes days after the Israeli military said it had found the bodies of six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Israel said the six hostages had been executed before Israeli forces could reach them.[5][6]
  • Israel's military campaign in Gaza since Oct. 7 has killed over 40K Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry.[7]

Sources: [1]United States Department of Justice, [2]FOX News, [3]Associated Press, [4]CNN, [5]NBC, [6]Timesofisrael and [7]BBC News.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. The DOJ's decision to unseal these charges is a positive step in bringing the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacres to justice and exposing their many crimes against humanity. Hamas and its international backers have been working incessantly to kick the can down the road and delay any accountability for what the group did on Oct. 7. Hamas cannot kill American citizens and expect that there will be no consequences.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The US continues to compromise its role as a mediator via pointless and hypocritical moral grandstanding. Israel has committed daily war crimes in Gaza, yet the US has not issued charges against any Israeli leaders. This symbolic gesture will only serve to further obstruct negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage-release deal.

Predictions