Justice Department, FBI form task force probing Hamas and US-based supporters
Prosecutors, FBI officials to take up symbolic case against Sinwar and other Hamas leaders for Oct. 7 atrocities, will investigate support for terror group on American soil
WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department on Monday announced the creation of a task force to investigate Hamas for its October 7, 2023 attack, as well as potential civil rights violations and acts of antisemitism by supporters of the terror group.
Agents and prosecutors participating in “Joint Task Force October 7,” or JTF 10-7, will investigate and seek to bring charges against Hamas terrorists directly responsible for the rampage in southern Israel, the department said.
“The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win — and there will be consequences,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, announcing the task force.
The Biden administration’s Justice Department unsealed charges last September against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior Hamas figures who helped carry out the October 7 massacre.
The impact of the case is mostly symbolic, given that Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces weeks later and several other defendants are believed now to be dead. The new task force will nevertheless take over those pending charges, the department said.
The announcement of the task force came as US President Donald Trump has issued what he has called a “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza.
His administration has taken universities to task over a perceived failure to stamp out antisemitism on their campuses, as well as foreigners who participated in anti-Israel demonstrations.
The Justice Department announced this month that it was investigating whether Columbia University concealed “illegal aliens” on its campus, and federal immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student prominent in anti-Israel protests on the New York campus.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he revoked Khalil’s permission to be in the US because of his role in the demonstrations, saying they had riled up “anti-Jewish” sentiment and amounted to support for Hamas.
The White House has said Khalil was detained and faces deportation due to his protest group distributing pro-Hamas propaganda. Khalil’s lawyers have challenged his detention in court.
Monday’s announcement said the task force, made up of prosecutors and FBI officials, also will investigate civil rights violations and potential acts of terrorism by anyone providing support or financing to Hamas.
It did not define what sort of support would be illegal, though federal law makes it a crime to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations such as Hamas, and also prohibits foreign nationals from espousing support for such groups.
The Justice Department said FBI agents will be embedded with Israel’s National Bureau of Counter Terror Finance.
The Times of Israel Community.