The U.S. Department of Justice has publicly disclosed that it previously indicted senior Hamas members, with three of the six defendants already having been executed | WPN World People News

On September 3, the U.S. Department of Justice publicly released a February indictment related to the Hamas attacks and massacres in northern Israel from early October of the previous year. The indictment accuses six senior Hamas members, including leader Ismail Haniyeh, of seven charges, including providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations leading to death, conspiring to murder U.S. citizens, and conspiring to fund terrorism. Three of the accused are now deceased, which has reduced the document's confidentiality, leading to its release. The indictment also alleges that Iran and Hezbollah provided financial and military assistance for these attacks.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, "This is just part of our actions against Hamas... it will not be our last action." The indictment is expected to have symbolic rather than practical significance and is not anticipated to impact ceasefire negotiations or hostage releases between Israel and Hamas. More actions against Hamas are anticipated. Hamas has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. since 1997 and is linked to numerous attacks against Israel.

Additionally, on May 20, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. While the U.S., UK, and Germany do not support these actions, France, Belgium, and Slovenia do, though the impact of these warrants is largely symbolic.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also noted that Hamas recently executed six hostages, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, increasing the urgency for ongoing ceasefire negotiations led by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar. For the people of Gaza, achieving a ceasefire is deemed more crucial than the symbolic nature of these indictments.