(Reuters) – The United States announced on Tuesday it would bring criminal charges against top Hamas leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and carrying out a deadly Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.

The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the militant group, and at least five others allege they organized the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.

The attack triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza, which left more than 40,800 Palestinians dead and much of the territory devastated.

“As our complaint outlines, these defendants — armed with weapons, political support and funding from the government of Iran, and support from (Hezbollah) — led Hamas’ efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians to accomplish that goal,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The complaint names six defendants, three of whom are dead. The surviving defendants are Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Doha and heads the group’s diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon.

The deceased defendants include former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who the group said was assassinated in Tehran in July; military wing chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an airstrike in July; and Marwan Issa, a deputy military commander who Israel said was killed in an attack in March.

Iran has blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death. Israeli officials have not admitted responsibility.

U.S. prosecutors filed charges against the six men in February but sealed the complaint in hopes of catching Haniyeh, according to a Justice Department official.

The Justice Department decided to reveal the charges after Haniyeh’s death.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward; editing by Rami Ayyub and Eric Beech)