U.S. has charged Hamas leaders in connection with the October 7 massacre in Israel and other acts of terrorism.

Yahya Sinwar, the political chief of Hamas, has been charged in connection with the attacks that led to the deaths of at least 43 Americans. Additionally, five other senior Hamas leaders face charges related to these incidents.

Federal prosecutors have charged Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, along with five senior members of the group for orchestrating years of terrorist attacks in Israel, including the October 7 massacre. This was revealed in a comprehensive complaint unsealed on Tuesday.

The complaint, initially filed in New York in February, also identified two additional senior Hamas members who were previously not linked directly to the attacks. It reports that 43 Americans were among the fatalities.

The other leaders named include Ismail Haniyeh, who managed Hamas’s political office in Qatar; Muhammad Deif, the commander of the group’s military wing; Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of the military wing; Ali Barakeh, a senior official based in Beirut; and Khaled Meshal, a former political leader who remains influential. Deif and Issa were killed in Israeli airstrikes during the Gaza conflict, while Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran after a bomb was secretly planted in his guesthouse.

Mr. Meshal, who lives in Qatar, and Mr. Haniyeh, who was residing in Doha, were not previously known to be involved in the October 7 attacks. Along with Mr. Barakeh, both men were outside Gaza at the time of the attacks, which took Israel by surprise.

American and Israeli intelligence had believed that the plans for the October 7 attacks were a closely guarded secret, known only to a few within Gaza, such as Mr. Sinwar and Mr. Deif. If the recent charges against Hamas’s political leaders are accurate, they could alter perceptions of the group’s involvement in these attacks.

The charges emerge at a politically sensitive time as the White House attempts to salvage cease-fire negotiations. This comes on the heels of a weekend revelation that Hamas executed six hostages in Gaza, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American. Goldberg-Polin was among the approximately 250 people taken on October 7. Despite being severely wounded but initially thought to be alive, he was later killed by Hamas. Seven more Americans are still in Gaza, with three believed to have died on or shortly after October 7, and the remaining four are unaccounted for.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated, “We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans, as acts of terrorism. We will continue to support the whole-of-government effort to bring the Americans still being held hostage home.”