When German authorities arrested three suspected Hamas operatives in October 2025, the detainees had already recorded a video claiming responsibility for an attack they were allegedly planning in Europe to coincide with the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, a senior prosecutor said on Tuesday.
“A pre-produced video claiming responsibility was seized from one of the suspects,” German Public Prosecutor General Jens Rommel told reporters in Karlsruhe, the DPA news agency reported.
Rommel was speaking about nine suspects arrested last October, who are accused of involvement in transporting and storing weapons and ammunition for Hamas.
The video announced an attack on the second anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 assault on Israel. Three of the nine suspects were arrested on October 1, 2025.
A British man, reportedly the son of a Hamas official, was also arrested and appeared in a British court at the time, potentially facing extradition.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is wanted by federal police in Germany as a part of a major counter-terrorism operation that led to the arrest in Berlin of three men suspected of preparing acts of violence against Jewish targets in Germany on behalf of Hamas. The terrorist group denied any connection to the three men.
German prosecutors have called the trio Hamas operatives and allege they are responsible for sourcing weapons and ammunition to be used in acts of domestic terror targeted at Jewish or Israeli institutions.
The men were identified only as German citizens Abed Al G and Ahmad I, and Lebanese-born Wael F M, in line with the country’s privacy laws.
Austrian authorities also uncovered a weapons cache in Vienna that is believed to be linked to Hamas for use in “possible terrorist attacks in Europe”.
According to Germany’s federal prosecutor, the British suspect “took over five handguns and ammunition … [and] then transported the weapons to Austria and stored them in Vienna.
“These actions served to prepare terrorist attacks on Israeli or Jewish facilities in Germany.”
Several European security services have uncovered several alleged Hamas plots and networks in recent years. Also in Germany, authorities arrested four suspected Hamas operatives in 2023 and later charged them with maintaining weapons caches across Europe for use in attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets.
Likewise, Danish authorities have also linked Hamas to a foiled terror plot targeting Jewish sites.
And, last week, Greek Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis suggested that Hamas had targeted Israelis in Greece, following the indictment of a suspected Palestinian terrorist from Gaza in Crete.
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