Germany’s federal prosecutor has indicted seven folks accused of acquiring weapons for Hamas in preparation for terrorist assaults timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 bloodbath in Israel.
The case has introduced renewed consideration to the risk posed by Hamas networks working in Europe, together with their potential concentrating on of Israeli, American and European services and civilians.
Based on prosecutors, all seven defendants are alleged members of Hamas, a international terrorist group. The group’s navy wing, the Qassam Brigades, had begun constructing weapons caches in Europe, authorities stated. By July 2025 on the newest, Hamas was allegedly planning a particular assassination in Germany or Austria concentrating on Israeli representatives, Jews or folks recognized to assist Israel. The suspects had been arrested between October 2025 and Might 2026.
Baden-Württemberg, Karlsruhe: A civilian police automobile enters the Federal Courtroom of Justice, the place a detention listening to is scheduled. On Nov. 13, 2025, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Workplace arrested a person on a prepare certain for Flensburg over alleged involvement in procuring weapons for Hamas. (Uli Deck/image alliance by way of Getty Pictures)
Prosecutors stated the deliberate assault was supposed to happen close to the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel — in different phrases, in early October 2025.
The indictment recognized the defendants by nationality and first title, together with the preliminary of every surname: German citizen Abed Al G.; Danish citizen Yousif C.; Lebanon-born Borhan El-Ok.; Lebanon-born Wael F.M.; German citizen Ahmad I.; Lebanon-born Kamel M.; and Bulgarian citizen Mohammad S.
German privateness guidelines usually prohibit the publication of legal suspects’ full surnames.
Hamas terrorists stand guard through the handover of hostages held in Gaza for the reason that lethal Oct. 7, 2023, assault. The switch occurred in Rafah within the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 22, 2025, as a part of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner change between Hamas and Israel. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
The accused allegedly acquired a working totally automated rifle, 13 functioning pistols and greater than 700 rounds of ammunition, German prosecutors stated. Mohammed A., who’s being prosecuted in a separate case, allegedly transported a number of the weapons to Vienna and saved them there.
German newspaper Die Welt reported that one of many defendants had additionally served as a confidential informant for Germany’s home intelligence service. Paperwork reviewed by the paper reportedly present that the informant continued speaking along with his handler whereas allegedly withholding the complete extent of his personal position in securing ammunition for Hamas.
Memorials mark the positioning of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist assault on the Supernova music pageant close to Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on Might 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)
Sascha Adamek, a German journalist and creator of the 2026 guide “Infiltration: Political Islam Continues Its Advance,” advised Information Outlet that the case displays the results of earlier authorities coverage. Till 2023, he stated, German authorities allowed Hamas and affiliated organizations to make use of the nation as a base for fundraising, recruitment and the radicalization of younger folks. That understanding — that Hamas would chorus from violence in Germany in change for working largely unhindered — is now not viable, he stated.
Germany’s newest federal home intelligence report estimated that Hamas could have had as much as 650 operatives within the nation in 2025, the latest yr lined. The report counted 550 Hamas operatives in 2024 and 450 in 2023, whereas cautioning that the figures had been partly estimated and rounded. It additionally estimated that 1,250 Hezbollah operatives had been lively in Germany.
Demonstrators wave flags and carry portraits of slain leaders, together with the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanon, throughout a rally in Tehran on Oct. 2, 2024. The demonstration adopted Iran’s missile barrage towards Israel, after which Israel vowed that Tehran would “pay” and Iran threatened an excellent bigger assault if focused. (Atta Kenare/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Requested why Hamas and Hezbollah members and supporters proceed to function in Germany, the press workplace of the Federal Ministry of the Inside stated Hamas has maintained a community of supporters and followers. Nonetheless, officers stated, these people have usually acted discreetly in public and averted seen indications of their affiliation with the group.
The ministry stated Hezbollah can be banned in Germany however doesn’t function by a single nationwide or regional umbrella group. As a substitute, its supporters are distributed amongst numerous associations. Authorities describe these teams’ actions as primarily non secular and cultural, together with instructional packages for kids, youngsters and adults that promote conservative Islam and Shi’ite id. In remoted instances, the ministry stated, Hezbollah supporters in Germany have offered particular help to the group in Lebanon.
Two federal law enforcement officials escort a person towards ready emergency automobiles. On Oct. 2, 2025, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor Common introduced the arrests of three suspected members of Hamas, who had been to look earlier than an investigating decide on the Federal Courtroom of Justice in Karlsruhe. (Philipp von Ditfurth/image alliance by way of Getty Picture)
In response to criticism that Germany has been too lenient in dismantling Hamas and Hezbollah-linked terrorist buildings, the Inside Ministry pointed to its bans on each teams. Germany prohibited Hamas actions on Nov. 2, 2023, saying they violated legal regulation, contradicted worldwide understanding and significantly harmed German pursuits. Hezbollah’s actions had already been banned on April 30, 2020, on comparable grounds, the ministry stated.
The ministry stated federal and state safety businesses routinely examine indications of extremist exercise and potential legal offenses whereas frequently reviewing all measures accessible underneath German regulation.
Officers added that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel and Israel’s ensuing navy marketing campaign in Gaza proceed to form the safety setting in Germany and throughout Europe. Past the elevated basic risk degree, authorities cited persistent pro-Palestinian demonstrations and intense on-line agitation. In addition they warned that extremist actors in Germany are selling hatred and violence towards Jews and Israel, or questioning Israel’s proper to exist.
Hamas terrorists stand in formation as Palestinians collect on a avenue to look at the handover of three Israeli hostages to a Crimson Cross staff in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Feb. 8, 2025. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto by way of Getty Pictures)
The presence of indicted Lebanese males highlights the alliance between the 2 U.S-designated terrorist organizations, Hamas and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
The Iranian regime-backed Hezbollah joined Hamas a day after the Gaza-based terrorist motion invaded Israel in 2023 and slaughtered over 1,200 folks.
Germany’s Die Welt reported, “The prosecutors alleged the weapons operation was additionally coordinated from Lebanon, the place a Hamas operative allegedly oversaw one of many procurement channels linking members of the community throughout Europe.”
Matthew Levitt, a number one scholar on Hezbollah and Hamas in Europe from the Washington Institute, advised Information Outlet that “I wrote the one lengthy kind, detailed expose on this some time again now in CTC Sentinel [Combating Terrorism Center}, based on court documents and extensive interviews.” He added, “Hamas continues plotting in Europe, overseen by senior Qassam Brigades officials in Lebanon and with direct ties to senior Hamas leadership. One of the people arrested in Europe is the son of a senior Hamas leader, Basem Naim.”
Levitt published his article titled “Hamas Plots in Europe: A Shift Toward External Operations?” in the Oct. 2025 issue of the West Point journal CTC.
Levitt cited a 2024 German prosecution indictment of alleged Hezbollah terrorists planning possible attacks against an American military base and Israel’s embassy. Levitt wrote “The weapons, German officials concluded, ‘were intended to expand Hamas’ activities in Europe. ‘As the investigation progressed, German authorities determined — based on materials found on one of the defendants’ USB storage devices — that the Hamas operatives were considering specific targets in Germany, including the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate and the area around Berlin’s Tempelhof airport.”
Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, warned that Hamas remains a serious security threat. He told the German media outlet, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), that “Germany has gone from being a retreat for Hamas to an active terrorist target.” He stressed Hamas’ ideology and terrorism affects “all of us” and a coordinated response is required.
