The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by American law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack.
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00:00Today, the Justice Department unsealed charges against Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders
00:06of Hamas for financing and directing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger
00:14the security of the United States.
00:17As outlined in our complaint, those defendants, armed with weapons, political support and
00:22funding from the government of Iran and support from Hezbollah, have led Hamas's efforts
00:28to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim.
00:34In its attacks over the past three decades, Hamas has murdered or injured thousands of
00:39civilians, including dozens of American citizens.
00:43In the early morning hours of October 7th of last year, Hamas, led by these defendants,
00:50committed its most violent, large-scale terrorist attack to date.
00:55During the attack, Hamas terrorists murdered civilians who tried to flee and those who
01:00sought refuge in bomb shelters.
01:02They murdered entire families.
01:04They murdered the elderly and they murdered young children.
01:08They weaponized sexual violence against women.
01:12On October 7th, Hamas terrorists murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans,
01:20and kidnapped hundreds of civilians.
01:23They perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
01:27This weekend, we learned that Hamas murdered six more hostages, including Hirsch Goldberg-Polen,
01:34a 23-year-old Israeli-American.
01:37We are investigating Hirsch's murder and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans
01:43as acts of terrorism.
01:45We will continue to support the whole-of-government effort to bring the Americans still being
01:50held hostage home.
01:52The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas's
01:58operations.
02:00These actions will not be our last.
02:03The Justice Department has a long memory.
02:06We will pursue the terrorists responsible for murdering Americans and those who illegally
02:11provide them with material support for the rest of their lives.