The US Department of Justice has announced criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants over the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
It's the first formal action taken by American law enforcement against the terrorist group over the attack. But the charges also relate to "a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the security of the United States," US Attorney-General Merrick Garland said.
The charges filed in the federal court in New York City include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, conspiracy to murder US nationals and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death.
The charging documents also accuses Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, that were used in the attack.
The impact of the case may be mostly symbolic given Sinwar is believed to be hiding out in tunnels and at least two of the other defendants are thought to have been killed.
But US officials say at least one person, who they did not name, is expected to be brought to New York for prosecution.
"The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations," Mr Garland said in a video statement. "These actions will not be our last. The Justice Department has a long memory."
Sinwar was appointed the overall head of Hamas after the group's top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Iran in July.
He is believed to have spent most of the past 10 months living in tunnels under Gaza, and it is unclear how much contact he has with the outside world.
Haniyeh is also named as a defendant, along with:
Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas' armed wing in Gaza who helped plan last year's attack and who Israel says was killed when fighter jets struck an underground compound in central Gaza in March.
Khaled Mashaal, another Haniyeh deputy and a former leader of the group.
Mohammed Deif, Hamas' long-time shadowy military leader, who is thought to be dead following an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza in July.
Ali Baraka, Hamas' head of external relations.
US prosecutors brought charges against the six men in February, but kept them confidential in the hopes of capturing Haniyeh, according to a Justice Department official.
The department decided to go public with the charges after Haniyeh's death.
The charges accuse the men of orchestrating the attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
That attack triggered an Israeli assault on Gaza that has now killed more than 40,800 Palestinians, according to the Gazan health ministry, and laid waste to much of the territory.
Investigation into hostage deaths
Mr Garland said his department was also investigating the death of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was among six hostages found dead in a Gazan tunnel at the weekend.
"We are investigating Hersh's murder, and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans, as acts of terrorism," he said.
The Australian and US governments both class Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Hamas has released unverified videos of some of the hostages in the hours before they were killed, apparently made under duress.
In a statement on X, the Israeli government requested social media users not to share the videos out of respect to the hostages' families.
"We will not further traumatise the Israeli families, who are living through their worst nightmares, by sharing these videos," the government said.
"Please remember that behind every Israeli hostage is a family suffering immensely."
ABC/wires
