Washington DC - The US Department of Justice unsealed a raft of "terrorism" and other charges against six Hamas leaders on Tuesday related to the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The charging document, dated February 1, targets six leaders of the group – including Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and late political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated, most likely by Israel, late July in Tehran.

They are accused of "conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death" along with six other counts.

The charges were filed under seal "to position the United States to be ready to take into custody" Haniyeh and the other defendants, a Justice Department official said in a statement.

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The official cited Haniyeh's death and unspecified "recent developments in the region," as reasons for the unsealing.

Hamas, which has been designated a "terrorist organization" by Washington since 1997, launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, triggering Israel's cataclysmic assault on Gaza.

The attacks killed at least 43 American citizens, according to the complaint, and resulted in at least 10 Americans being taken as hostages or missing.

"The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas's operations. These actions will not be our last," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Charged along with Sinwar and Haniyeh was Mohammed Al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, the former commander in chief of the al-Qassam Brigades who is believed to have died in July.

Also charged was Marwan Issa, who was the deputy commander of the al-Qassam Brigades from approximately 2007 until his reported death earlier this year.

Qatar-based Khaled Meshaal, the head of the group's diaspora office responsible for overseeing Hamas's presence outside of Gaza, was also charged.

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The final man charged was Ali Baraka, Hamas' head of National Relations, who is also based outside of Gaza.

Despite explicitly declaring its hostility to Hamas and actively pursuing its leadership and members, the Biden administration continues to portray itself as a mediator in stalled ceasefire negotiations between the organization and Israel, which the US has backed to the hilt in its relentless war.

The DOJ's move drew immediate criticism, with Jordanian-American journalist Rami Khouri telling Al Jazeera that "in the eyes of most of the world, the United States is not an honest broker, but is complicit in the Israeli genocide."

Hamas senior official Hamas Basem Naim also told Al Jazeera that US President Joe Biden himself should be charged for "directly participating for the last 11 months in the killing of our people and destroying of our country."