Hamas operatives planned to carry out a terrorist attack in Europe on the second anniversary of October 7, German Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel revealed at his office’s annual press conference in Karlsruhe.
The full transcript was provided to The Jerusalem Post by the office of the prosecutor on Tuesday.
Since autumn 2025, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has arranged the arrest of a total of nine Hamas suspects, several of them abroad, specifically in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and most recently in Denmark.
The suspects are believed to have been involved in transporting weapons and ammunition since at least summer 2025. The area of activity under investigation was primarily Germany, but also extended to Vienna, where one suspect allegedly stored weapons.
Rommel confirms that authorities recovered a pre-recorded claim-of-responsibility video from one suspect, in which an attack was announced around the second anniversary of the assault on Israel, around October 7 2025.
More broadly, Rommel warned that Europe no longer serves merely as a place where foreign terrorist organizations generate funds to finance their terrorism.
“Rather, Germany and other European countries are now increasingly being viewed as operational areas for possible attacks,” he said.
“This becomes particularly evident in the case of Hamas. To prepare attacks in Europe, their foreign operatives, sympathizers, or individuals connected to organized crime acquire and smuggle weapons.
“They often hold European citizenship or residence permits within the Schengen Area, allowing them to move freely. They are highly mobile and extensively networked, and some possess significant financial resources.”
Combating the dangers of growing terrorism
To combat the dangers arising from this threat, the prosecutor’s terrorism division works with security and law enforcement agencies both domestically and internationally.
When necessary, the division not only arrests suspects in Germany but also has them detained abroad and extradited.
As early as December 2023, four men were arrested in Germany and, in one case, in the Netherlands. They were found to be responsible for underground caches where Hamas had stored weapons years earlier for future attacks against Israeli or Jewish institutions.
The Kammergericht Berlin sentenced these four individuals in February 2026 to prison terms ranging from five to seven years for membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
Hamas is not the only group responsible for such plans; in September, prosecutors charged a Lebanese national who, on behalf of Hezbollah, procured components for building military drones in Germany and other European countries, particularly engines. The transactions involved deals worth approximately one million euros.
One drone engine obtained by the accused was proven to have been used in an attack on a nursing home in Israel.
The Higher Regional Court of Celle sentenced the defendant in March 2026 to six and a half years in prison.