Washington D.C. – U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.), alongside ten of their colleagues, have called on the Biden-Harris Administration to authorize a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to the capture or disruption of Hamas leaders responsible for the October 7, 2023, attacks. The request, made through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, aims to bring justice to those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Americans during the attack in Israel.
In a letter dated September 26, the Senators urged the Administration to respond by October 7 to their bipartisan request for the reward authorization. As of now, no response has been received from the Administration.
“We write requesting the immediate authorization of a reward of up to $25 million under the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program for information that leads to the arrest of, locates, or disrupts the financial support for Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders or operatives responsible for the murder and kidnapping of Americans on October 7, 2023,” the letter stated. The Senators emphasized the importance of using every available tool to ensure the release of hostages, including seven Americans still being held in Gaza.
The RFJ program was established in 1984 to combat international terrorism. The Senators highlighted its purpose by calling for rewards to be offered for Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Al-Masri, Khaled Meshaal, and Ali Baraka, who were recently charged in a federal criminal complaint related to the October 7th attack.
One year ago, on October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, including over 40 Americans. Several Americans are still being held hostage in Gaza. Hamas has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 1997.
The Senators’ request aims to bolster efforts to bring those responsible for the violence to justice and to provide leverage in securing the release of hostages. The Biden-Harris Administration has yet to issue a public response to the request.
