Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Tuesday that the Justice Department has charged six senior leaders of Hamas with terrorism, conspiracy to commit murder, and sanctions evasion.
According to a DOJ press release, the individuals charged are Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal, and Ali Baraka. “The defendants charged in the complaint are all senior leaders of Hamas who have orchestrated, overseen, and supported Hamas’s decades-long campaign of terrorism, including the October 7 Hamas Massacres,” the statement read.
Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the chairman of Hamas’s Politburo (the organization’s political wing) from 2017 until his reported death around July 31, was one of those charged. He was also previously the deputy chairman of the Politburo and the leader of Hamas in Gaza. Yahya Sinwar, known as Abu Ibrahim, currently leads Hamas and was the group’s leader in Gaza from around 2017. He is also recognized as one of the founders of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing.
Mohammad Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif and al Khalid al-Deif, was the commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades from about 2002 until his reported death around July 13. Marwan Issa, known as Abu Baraa,