US charges Hamas leader and other militants in connection with October 7 massacre in Israel

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other leading fighters will be charged in connection with the October 7 shootings in Israel, the first attempt by U.S. law enforcement to officially name the masterminds behind the attack.

The indictment, filed in federal court in New York City, includes seven counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death. It also accuses Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including missiles, used in the attack.

The impact of the case is likely to be largely symbolic, as Sinwar is believed to be hiding in tunnels and at least two of the other defendants named by the Justice Department are believed to have been killed. But U.S. authorities say at least one person, whom they are not naming, is expected to be brought to New York to face prosecution.

“The indictments announced today are just one part of our efforts to target every aspect of Hamas' operations,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video message. “These actions will not be our last.”

Sinwar was appointed head of Hamas after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and is at the top of Israel's most wanted list. He is believed to have spent much of the past 10 months in tunnels beneath Gaza. It is unclear how much contact he has with the outside world.

The other Hamas leaders indicted include Haniyeh, Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas's armed wing in Gaza who helped plan last year's attack and who Israel says was killed in March when fighter jets struck an underground complex in central Gaza; Khaled Mashaal, another of Haniyeh's deputies and a former leader of the group; Mohammed Deif, Hamas's longtime secretive military leader who was presumed dead after an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July; and Ali Baraka, Hamas's foreign affairs chief.