‘Deadliest Massacre Of Jews Since Holocaust’: US Charges Hamas Leaders With ‘Terrorism’ Over Oct 7 Attack On Israel

The US has charged Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and several other prominent figures in the Palestinian group in connection with its deadly attack in Israel on 7 October last year. The US Justice Department has indicted six Hamas members on seven charges, including the murder of US citizens, conspiracy to finance terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. The indictment spans decades of alleged Hamas attacks, including the significant assault on southern Israel nearly a year ago. This legal action marks the initial effort by US law enforcement to hold responsible the masterminds behind the 7 October attack, even though three of the indicted individuals are deceased, and Sinwar is believed to be in hiding within Gaza’s tunnels.
In a video statement on Tuesday, Garland said the defendants were responsible for “financing and directing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the security of the United States,” according to BBC.
The group also “led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the state of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim”. He noted the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, in which the group “murdered entire families” in “the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
“They murdered the elderly and they murdered young children. They weaponised sexual violence against women, including rape and genital mutilation.”
He added that during the attack the group “murdered over 1,200 people” and “perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has so far killed at least 40,819 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
The October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians and including hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.