On September 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it unsealed a complaint that charged six senior leaders of Hamas for their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 (“the October 7 Hamas Massacres”). The defendants, which are either deceased or remain at large, are charged with terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions evasion in connection with the atrocities of October 7th, Hamas’s most violent terrorist attack to date. According to the DOJ, the October 7 Hamas Massacres were the culmination of a decades-long campaign of terror and violence against Israel and its allies, that resulted in the murder and kidnapping of more than a thousand innocent civilians, including more than 40 Americans. Since October 7, 2023, at least eight Americans have been taken hostage by Hamas or remain unaccounted for. More recently, Hamas also executed one U.S. hostage that was taken during the October 7 Hamas Massacres.
According to the unsealed complaint, Haraka al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya, commonly known as Hamas, was founded in 1987 for the purpose of creating “an Islamic Palestinian state throughout Israel by eliminating the State of Israel through violent holy war, or jihad.” In pursuit of this goal, Hamas has allegedly promoted attacks against the United States and American citizens for more than two decades, resulting in the death or injury of dozens of Americans over the years. In 1997, the U.S. designated Hamas has as a foreign terrorist organization (“FTO”) – an organization whose acts of terrorism are reportedly fueled in part by the Government of Iran.
The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, charges Ismael Haniyeh (deceased), the former chairman of the Politburo, Hamas’s political branch; Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas; Mohammad Al-Masri (deceased), the former commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military branch; Marwan Issa (deceased), the former deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades; Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, the head of Hamas’ National Relations Abroad with seven offenses. Each defendant was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a FTO resulting in death; conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death; conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals outside the United States; conspiracy to bomb a place of public use resulting in death; conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death; conspiracy to finance terrorism; and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.