On Tuesday, the United States announced criminal charges against key leaders of Hamas for their involvement in orchestrating and supporting the deadly October 7 attack in southern Israel, which resulted in 1,200 deaths, including over 40 Americans. The accused include Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' chief, and five others, three of whom are deceased.

The living defendants are Sinwar, believed to be hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, based in Doha and leading Hamas' diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior official in Lebanon. The deceased are former leader Ismail Haniyeh, reportedly assassinated in July in Tehran; Mohammed Deif, the military wing chief killed in a July airstrike; and Marwan Issa, a deputy military commander killed in March.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the charges accuse the defendants of leading Hamas' efforts to destroy Israel and murder civilians, supported by weapons, political backing, and funding from Iran, as well as support from Hezbollah. The charges, initially brought in February and kept sealed in hopes of capturing Haniyeh, were made public after his death. Iran has blamed Israel for Haniyeh's death, though Israeli officials have not confirmed responsibility.