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US Justice Department Charges Hamas Leaders for Oct. 7 Massacre in Israel

US Attorney General Merrick Garland speaking at a hearing of the House Judiciary committee at the US Capitol. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced terrorism charges against several top leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for orchestrating the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

The DOJ revealed in an unsealed complaint on Tuesday that six key Hamas leaders have been issued charges of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion for their roles in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Marwan Issa, Khaled Meshaal, and Ali Baraka played central roles in planning and perpetrating the slaughter of 1,200 people and abduction of 251 others as hostages on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded Israel from neighboring Gaza, according to the DOJ.

“The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians,” Garland continued. “This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered an additional six people they had kidnapped and held captive for nearly a year, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli American. We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of Hamas’s brutal murders of Americans, as an act of terrorism. 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.”

In the unsealed complaint, the DOJ explained how Iran, which US intelligence agencies have repeatedly labeled the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, has helped empower Hamas to commit acts of violence against Israel. The department outlined how Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have materially “supported, supplied, and trained” the Hamas terrorist group. The DOJ argued that Hamas has played a critical role in Iran’s “global and regional ambitions of damaging, weakening, and ultimately destroying both the United States and Israel.”

The IRGC has provided Hamas, among other things, rockets and technical assistance necessary to build rockets and tens of millions of dollars in annual funding for Hamas’ terror wing, including through cryptocurrency payments.”

The complaint alleged that Hamas received support from Hezbollah, another Iran-backed Islamist terror group, which operates out of Lebanon. 

“Hamas’s leadership has acknowledged the instrumental role that support from the government of Iran and from Hezbollah” played in its ability to carry out the Oct. 7 massacre, according to the DOJ.

In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, Hezbollah launched an offensive on Israel’s northern border, firing rockets, missiles, and drones on Israeli communities from southern Lebanon almost daily. The barrages have forced tens of thousands of families to flee to other areas in the country. 

Iran’s deployment of Hamas and Hezbollah, the DOJ argued, are part of the Iranian regime’s “years-long strategy to encircle Israel with armed proxy groups, instigate turmoil, and promote acts of terrorism.”

Haniyeh was Hamas’s top leader and the head of its political bureau until he was killed in an explosion in Iran on July 31. While Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for the assassination, Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the killing.

Sinwar, who had been Hamas’s chief in Gaza, was picked to succeed Haniyeh as the terrorist group’s overall leader. Israel has said that Sinwar is “marked for death” as the architect of the Oct. 7 attack, which was orchestrated along with Al-Masri, the Hamas military wing commander better known Muhammad Deif, who was killed by the Israeli military in July.

According to reports, Sinwar is alive in southern Gaza and, to deter being targeted by Israeli forces, has surrounded himself with hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7.

The DOJ has charged the six Hamas leaders with “conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death,” “conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death,” “conspiring to murder US nationals outside the United States,” “conspiring to bomb a place of public use resulting in death,” and “conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death.” Each of these charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison or death. 

In addition, the DOJ has handed the terrorists with charges of “conspiring to finance terrorism” and “conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” Each of these carries maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison. 

“From the moment Hamas launched its horrific attack on Oct. 7, the FBI has been dedicated to identifying and charging those responsible for these heinous crimes,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The FBI has and will continue to relentlessly investigate these attacks on civilians, including Americans. Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization with a long history of violence, and the group’s actions have resulted in increased terrorism threats in the US and against American interests throughout the world. Countering terrorism remains our number one priority, and our work continues.”

The post US Justice Department Charges Hamas Leaders for Oct. 7 Massacre in Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”

The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.

“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.

Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.

The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.

Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”

The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool

i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.

The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.

The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.

The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.

The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.

The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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