Germany’s federal prosecutor has indicted seven people accused of obtaining weapons for Hamas in preparation for terrorist attacks timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
The case has brought renewed attention to the threat posed by Hamas networks operating in Europe, including their potential targeting of Israeli, American and European facilities and civilians.
According to prosecutors, all seven defendants are alleged members of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization. The group’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, had begun building weapons caches in Europe, authorities said. By July 2025 at the latest, Hamas was allegedly planning a specific assassination in Germany or Austria targeting Israeli representatives, Jews or people known to support Israel. The suspects were arrested between October 2025 and May 2026.
Baden-Württemberg, Karlsruhe: A civilian police vehicle enters the Federal Court of Justice, where a detention hearing is scheduled. On Nov. 13, 2025, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested a man on a train bound for Flensburg over alleged involvement in procuring weapons for Hamas. (Uli Deck/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Prosecutors said the planned attack was intended to occur near the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel — in other words, in early October 2025.
The indictment identified the defendants by nationality and first name, along with the initial of each surname: German citizen Abed Al G.; Danish citizen Yousif C.; Lebanon-born Borhan El-K.; Lebanon-born Wael F.M.; German citizen Ahmad I.; Lebanon-born Kamel M.; and Bulgarian citizen Mohammad S.
German privacy rules generally prohibit the publication of criminal suspects’ full surnames.
Hamas terrorists stand guard during the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The transfer took place in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 22, 2025, as part of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
The accused allegedly acquired a working fully automatic rifle, 13 functioning pistols and more than 700 rounds of ammunition, German prosecutors said. Mohammed A., who is being prosecuted in a separate case, allegedly transported some of the weapons to Vienna and kept them there.
German newspaper Die Welt reported that one of the defendants had also served as a confidential informant for Germany’s domestic intelligence service. Documents reviewed by the paper reportedly show that the informant continued communicating with his handler while allegedly withholding the full extent of his own role in securing ammunition for Hamas.
Memorials mark the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sascha Adamek, a German journalist and author of the 2026 book “Infiltration: Political Islam Continues Its Advance,” told News Outlet that the case reflects the consequences of earlier government policy. Until 2023, he said, German authorities allowed Hamas and affiliated organizations to use the country as a base for fundraising, recruitment and the radicalization of young people. That understanding — that Hamas would refrain from violence in Germany in exchange for operating largely unhindered — is no longer viable, he said.
Germany’s latest federal domestic intelligence report estimated that Hamas may have had up to 650 operatives in the country in 2025, the most recent year covered. The report counted 550 Hamas operatives in 2024 and 450 in 2023, while cautioning that the figures were partly estimated and rounded. It also estimated that 1,250 Hezbollah operatives were active in Germany.
Demonstrators wave flags and carry portraits of slain leaders, including the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanon, during a rally in Tehran on Oct. 2, 2024. The demonstration followed Iran’s missile barrage against Israel, after which Israel vowed that Tehran would “pay” and Iran threatened an even larger attack if targeted. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked why Hamas and Hezbollah members and supporters continue to operate in Germany, the press office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior said Hamas has maintained a network of supporters and followers. However, officials said, those individuals have generally acted discreetly in public and avoided visible indications of their affiliation with the organization.
The ministry said Hezbollah is also banned in Germany but does not operate through a single nationwide or regional umbrella organization. Instead, its supporters are distributed among various associations. Authorities describe those groups’ activities as primarily religious and cultural, along with educational programs for children, teenagers and adults that promote conservative Islam and Shi’ite identity. In isolated cases, the ministry said, Hezbollah supporters in Germany have provided specific assistance to the organization in Lebanon.
Two federal police officers escort a man toward waiting emergency vehicles. On Oct. 2, 2025, Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General announced the arrests of three suspected members of Hamas, who were to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Image)
In response to criticism that Germany has been too lenient in dismantling Hamas and Hezbollah-linked terrorist structures, the Interior Ministry pointed to its bans on both groups. Germany prohibited Hamas activities on Nov. 2, 2023, saying they violated criminal law, contradicted international understanding and seriously harmed German interests. Hezbollah’s activities had already been banned on April 30, 2020, on similar grounds, the ministry said.
The ministry said federal and state security agencies routinely investigate indications of extremist activity and potential criminal offenses while continually reviewing all measures available under German law.
Officials added that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza continue to shape the security environment in Germany and across Europe. Beyond the elevated general threat level, authorities cited persistent pro-Palestinian demonstrations and intense online agitation. They also warned that extremist actors in Germany are promoting hatred and violence against Jews and Israel, or questioning Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas terrorists stand in formation as Palestinians gather on a street to watch the handover of three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Feb. 8, 2025. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The presence of indicted Lebanese men highlights the alliance between the two 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 movement invaded Israel in 2023 and slaughtered over 1,200 people.
Germany’s Die Welt reported, “The prosecutors alleged the weapons operation was also coordinated from Lebanon, where a Hamas operative allegedly oversaw one of the procurement channels linking members of the network across Europe.”
Matthew Levitt, a leading scholar on Hezbollah and Hamas in Europe from the Washington Institute, told News Outlet that “I wrote the only long form, detailed expose on this a while back 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.
