Germany's federal prosecutor disclosed that a Hamas-organized terror attack targeting Jews and Israelis, planned to coincide with the second anniversary of October 7, 2025, was foiled at the last moment. Reports indicate that the attackers had not only acquired weapons and selected their targets but had already pre-recorded a claim-of-responsibility video. The attack was to be carried out by Hamas operatives based in Europe.
About a week before the planned attack, on October 1, 2025, three suspects were arrested in Berlin on charges of plotting an attack against Jewish and Israeli institutions, as well as against Israeli and Jewish civilians. At a press conference held Monday in the city of Karlsruhe, Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel said he suspected Hamas had been fully prepared to carry out a concrete terrorist attack, and confirmed that "a pre-recorded video claiming responsibility was seized from one of the suspects."
German law enforcement authorities charged the three suspects with involvement in transporting and storing weapons and ammunition for Hamas since at least the summer of 2025. One is a 36-year-old German citizen of Lebanese origin, the second is a Lebanon-born man aged 43, and the third is a 44-year-old German citizen of Syrian origin. In their possession, investigators found a Glock pistol, an AK-47 assault rifle, and several hundred rounds of ammunition. Investigators believe the weapons were intended for attacks against Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and other European countries. All three had been under surveillance by German authorities and security services, who decided to act after concluding the attack could be carried out imminently.
In the months since the three terrorists were arrested, additional suspects believed to be part of the terror network that attempted to carry out the attacks in Europe have been detained. Nine suspects in total have been arrested in the case to date. About two weeks ago, an additional suspect was arrested in Denmark, and suspects had previously been arrested in Britain and Cyprus as well. According to the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, one of the suspects arrested in London received weapons that he transported and stored in a rented warehouse in Vienna. Austrian intelligence services uncovered a cache there of five pistols and ten magazines.
At the end of last March, the Berlin Regional Court of Appeal sentenced four members of a separate Hamas cell to several years in prison following a trial lasting more than a year. The court was satisfied that the men, who operated as Hamas foreign agents, had established weapons caches in Germany, Poland, Denmark, and Bulgaria, among other countries. The defendants denied membership in the Palestinian terror organization. It was the first time a German regional court of appeal had ruled that Hamas constitutes a foreign terrorist organization under German criminal law.
It was only recently revealed that prominent Jewish figures and pro-Israel individuals had been targeted for assassination by Iranian Revolutionary Guards operatives. According to reports, the targets were Volker Beck, a former member of parliament from the Green Party and president of the German-Israeli Friendship Society, and Dr. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. The primary suspect, a Danish citizen of Afghan origin, allegedly operated on behalf of Iran's Quds Force, gathered intelligence, and conducted surveillance in Berlin. Together with an Afghan accomplice, he allegedly attempted to procure weapons to assassinate both men. The plot was foiled, in part thanks to intelligence from the Mossad, which exposed the scheme to German authorities.
