The US Department of Justice is preparing to file criminal charges against senior Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and his associates, for their role in the Oct. 7 onslaught on Israel in which terrorists killed over 40 American citizens. The criminal complaint, submitted to a federal court in New York, includes charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.

The Justice Department's statement specifically mentioned dual American-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed by Hamas last week after being held captive for nearly 11 months.

"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," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement.

Additional Hamas leaders charged include Ismail Haniyeh, who was eliminated in Iran; Marwan Issa, deputy leader of Hamas's military wing in Gaza; Khaled Mashaal, another deputy to Haniyeh and former leader of the organization; and others. 

The seven-count complaint marks the first legal action taken by the United States against those behind the attack on Israel. Charges also include conspiracy to murder US nationals and use weapons of mass destruction. The US additionally accuses Hezbollah and Iran of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets used in the attack.

Sinwar, who has been in hiding underground in Gaza since the war began, and Haniyeh will not stand trial. However, according to an Associated Press report, US officials say at least one individual, whose name was not disclosed, is expected to be brought to New York to face prosecution.

On Sunday, shortly after the announcement of Goldberg-Polin's death in Hamas captivity, President Joe Biden stated unequivocally, "Hamas leaders will pay for their crimes."

The Justice Department's statement noted that Hamas has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997, with the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state through violent means. The organization has employed rockets, suicide bombings, and other brutal tactics for decades, escalating threats to US national security.

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The pan-Arab newspaper Rai al-Youm has shed some light on a meeting that did not take place this month between leader of Hamas abroad Khaled Mashaal and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. According to a report published Monday, it is believed that the hostility of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to certain Hamas leaders torpedoed the planned meeting.

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Mashaal visited Lebanon this month after an explosion at a Hamas weapons warehouse in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre. The blast killed Hamas' chief engineer and during his funeral, Hamas and Fatah members from the camp shot at each other. Three Hamas members were killed by the gunfire.

The newspaper reported that the prevailing belief for the reason the Mashaal-Nasrallah meeting did not take place was that the Hamas delegation in Beirut was unable to consult with or meet with any of the official Hezbollah leadership. However, the two organizations are still in contact, particularly on military matters.

However, the newspaper report also said that the leaders of Hamas in Lebanon felt that there was hostility toward Mashaal in Hezbollah, and that Hezbollah had been in a dispute with Mashaal and his people ever since Mashaal left his stronghold in Damascus for Qatar during the events of the Arab Spring in 2011. The anger toward Mashaal stems from his refusing Syrian President Bashar Assad's request that he respond to a fatwa from Sheikh Yusef Al-Qaradawi, former spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who declared jihad in Syria during the Syrian war.

Either way, the report said that Hezbollah's conduct was a reflection of the stance of the Assad regime. The newspaper stressed that although Hamas wanted to organize a meeting in hope of overcoming the disagreements and even turning over a new leaf, Hezbollah not only forwent the sit-down, but also made it clear that it wasn't interested. Nevertheless, Hamas took the risk of visiting Lebanon.

According to the report, Sheikh Mohammad Ramadan (who according to reports in Lebanon is actually Mohammed Azazi, a senior official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and responsible for the IRGC security coordination in Lebanon) informed the Hamas delegation, which included Khalil al-Haya, that "Circumstances were not appropriate to welcome Mashaal." He suggested that Mashaal not come and his visit be postponed.

Rai Al-Youm also reported that hours before the Hamas delegation departed from Istanbul for Beirut, the Iranians sent a message to Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh, in which they told Haniyeh that the planned visit was unwelcome and should be cancelled.

Therefore, the newspaper claimed, Haniyeh consulted Mashaal and the two eventually decided that Mashaal would visit Beirut and ask to meet with senior members of the Palestinian groups in Lebanon.

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