The United States has brought "terrorism" and several other charges against six leaders of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas over it's Oct. 7 incursion of southern Israel.
The charging document, dated Feb. 1, targets key leaders of the group – including newly elected Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and late political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in late July in Tehran.
They are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.
The charges were filed under seal "to position the United States to be ready to take into custody" Haniyeh and the other defendants, a Justice Department official said in a statement.
The official cited Haniyeh's death and unspecified "recent developments in the region," as reasons for the unsealing.
Hamas, designated a "terrorist organization" by Washington since 1997, launched its incursion on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
The killed at least 43 American citizens, according to the complaint and resulted in at least 10 Americans being taken as hostages or missing.
"The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations. These actions will not be our last," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
'Mass violence'
Garland said that U.S. authorities were also investigating the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7.
His death was announced over the weekend along with five other hostages.
Charged along with Sinwar and Haniyeh was Mohammad al-Masri, the former commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades who is believed to have died in July.
Also charged was Marwan Issa, who was the deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades from approximately 2007 until his reported death earlier this year.
Qatar-based Khaled Meshaal, the head of the group's diaspora office responsible for overseeing Hamas' presence outside of Gaza, was also charged.
The final man charged was Ali Baraka, Hamas' head of National Relations, who is also based outside of Gaza. Israel believes Sinwar, 61, is still in the Gaza Strip.