The US Department of Justice announced its leadership for a newly established special task force that will prosecute Hamas for the October 7 massacre, a government statement said on Monday.
“The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win – and there will be consequences,” said Attorney-General Pamela Bondi.
The Jerusalem Post previously reported that Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7) will seek the arrest and extradition of Hamas National Relations Abroad head Ali Baraka and acting Hamas Political Bureau chair Khaled Mashaal.
The initiative is reportedly based on a previous FBI criminal complaint against Hamas leadership, which also leveled charges against slain Hamas officials Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammad Deif, and Marwan Issa.
JTF 10-7 will also take on these pending symbolic charges, ABC reported on Monday.
All-out war on antisemtism and terror
Bondi went on to note her "solemn honor of meeting with several families" of dual-citizen hostages who are currently held in Gaza.
"This task force will strengthen the Department’s resolve to achieve justice for these families and their loved ones as we continue to fight antisemitism in all its forms," she noted.
The Monday press release noted that JTF 10-7 would be staffed by FBI agents, analysts, forensic accountants, data scientists, and linguists out of Langley, Virginia.
Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche stressed the US's commitment to combatting terror and antisemitism internationally.
"The victims of Hamas’s decades-long violent campaign of terrorism against Israel will always have the support of the US government, and the Department will no longer permit illegal support of Hamas on our campuses and elsewhere in the homeland,” said Blanche.
“Antisemitic acts of terrorism – whether here or abroad – will never go unpunished. This task force represents our unyielding commitment to those who have suffered at the hands of these brutal terrorists.”
FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the FBI's commitment to the bureau's "investigative and victim assistance efforts related to the horrific acts of terror committed by Hamas.”
The original notice of JTF 10-7's formation noted that American terror supporters would be investigated.
American Hamas supporters will also be scrutinized by the task force. The task force is set to prosecute “acts of terrorism, antisemitic civil rights violations, and other federal crimes committed by Hamas supporters in the United States, including on college campuses.”
This announcement comes as the Trump administration moved to deport a Columbia University activist who reportedly supported Hamas, Mahmoud Khalil.
The group will also investigate any potential civil rights violations or acts of antisemitism performed by Hamas supporters. It will reportedly investigate inquiries into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Michael Starr contributed to this report.
