The Justice Ministry announced terrorism charges against six Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7.

The other defendants named in the criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court are Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammad al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal and Ali Baraka. Three of the defendants — Haniyeh, Issa and Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif — were killed in recent months.

The Hamas leaders are charged with seven counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, conspiracy to assassinate U.S. citizens, and conspiracy to bomb a public place resulting in death.

A Justice Department official said in a statement that the charges were filed under seal on February 1, in order to be prepared to take Haniyeh into custody if necessary. But after Haniyeh’s death and other recent events in the region, the seal was no longer necessary, the official said.

“Today, the Department of Justice unsealed charges against Yahya Sinwar and other senior Hamas leaders for funding and directing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the security of the United States,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement. “The charges unsealed today are just one part of our efforts to target all aspects of Hamas’ operations. These actions will not be the last.”

Garland mentioned the recent news that six hostages held by Hamas, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, have been killed.

He said the Justice Department was investigating Goldberg-Polin’s killing, as well as the killings of other Americans by Hamas.

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