Hamas spent years building operational networks across Europe that allegedly prepared attacks against Jewish, Israeli and Western targets, according to an investigation published by Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The suspected infrastructure stretched from Greece and Cyprus to Germany, Austria and Denmark, involving sleeper cells, weapons caches and explosives training.
The latest case emerged in June, when Greek authorities arrested a 37-year-old Egyptian man of Palestinian origin in Crete. Police reportedly found chemicals, a precision scale and equipment potentially usable for making explosives at his Athens apartment. Investigators linked him to Palestinians arrested in Cyprus and suspect the cell considered attacking an Israeli cruise ship that regularly docks in Greece.
Separate but overlapping investigations uncovered an alleged weapons network centered on Germany. Suspects reportedly moved at least 13 handguns, an AK-47 and more than 900 rounds of ammunition through Scandinavia, Germany and Austria. German prosecutors said one group had selected a target for an attack around October 7, 2025, and recorded a video claiming responsibility, although authorities have not disclosed the target.
The alleged infrastructure predates Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. A Berlin court in March sentenced four Hamas members to prison terms of between four-and-a-half and six years for involvement in European weapons depots. Investigators traced caches to Bulgaria and Denmark, suspected another in Poland, and said operatives had examined potential targets including Israel’s Berlin embassy and the U.S. Ramstein Air Base.
Hamas denied connections to the suspects and maintained that its armed campaign is limited to Palestinian territory. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler rejected that denial, citing alleged personal links between suspects and senior Hamas figures in Lebanon. “Hamas’ weakness is not necessarily good news for Europe,” he warned, arguing that pressure on the terrorist organization in Gaza could increase its incentive to seek global attention through attacks abroad.