JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Hamas sought to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack in Europe modeled on its Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel, according to a report published by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung citing German prosecutors and intelligence findings.

The report said investigators believe Hamas operatives planned coordinated attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets across Europe, with the alleged plot intended to coincide with the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack in 2025. Prosecutors said the plan was disrupted through a series of arrests made in Germany and several other European countries.

German Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel said authorities have arrested nine Hamas suspects since late 2025 as part of an investigation into a network accused of transporting and storing weapons and ammunition for the militant group. The alleged network operated across several European countries, including Germany, Austria, Denmark, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, according to prosecutors.

Among the evidence cited by prosecutors was a pre-recorded video in which the suspects allegedly claimed responsibility for the planned attack before it had been carried out, suggesting the operation had advanced beyond the planning stage.

According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung report, investigators believe the intended targets included Jewish institutions and Israeli interests in Europe. The newspaper said the alleged plot reflected what European security officials view as an expansion of Hamas’ operational ambitions beyond the Middle East.

European authorities have increased security around Jewish sites since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. The assault triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

Hamas has not publicly commented on the allegations reported by German prosecutors. The suspects have been charged but have not been convicted, and the allegations against them have not been tested in court.