German prosecutor reveals Hamas planned European attack, pre-recorded confession video found among suspects
German federal prosecutor Jens Rommel said a pre-prepared confession video was found among nine arrested Hamas suspects, pointing to a plan to attack Israeli or Jewish institutions around the second anniversary of the October 7 assault.
The discovery
At his annual press conference in Karlsruhe on Monday evening, Federal Public Prosecutor General Jens Rommel disclosed that a pre-recorded confession video had been secured from one of the suspects in the case.
The video announced an attack timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Hamas assault on Israel, around 7 October 2025. The first three suspects were arrested in Berlin on 1 October 2025, just days before the planned date.Bei einem der Beschuldigten wurde ein vorgefertigtes Bekennervideo sichergestellt.
The planned attack
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the suspects had been involved since at least the summer of 2025 in transporting and stockpiling weapons and ammunition for the Islamist Palestinian organisation. Investigators believe the arsenal was intended for attacks on Israeli or Jewish facilities in Germany and across Europe. The video discovery gives authorities concrete evidence of a plot that was actively being prepared.
The arrests across Europe
In total, nine alleged Hamas supporters have been taken into custody since last autumn. After the initial three arrests in Berlin, six more men were detained in the following months in Germany and other European countries, including the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and Denmark, where the latest arrest occurred at the end of May. One of the accused is said to have stored weapons in Vienna, Austria.
- Suspects begin transporting and storing weapons for Hamas (no later than summer 2025).
- First three suspects arrested in Berlin, days before the planned attack.
- Second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel; planned attack date according to confession video.
- Subsequent arrests in the following months in Germany, UK, and Cyprus.
- Last arrest at the end of May in Denmark.
- Berlin appellate court convicts four Hamas cell members for membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.
- Federal Prosecutor Rommel reveals details at annual press conference.
Legal context
End of March, the Berlin appellate court convicted four members of a Hamas underground cell to multi-year prison sentences for membership in a foreign terrorist organisation. The court found that the men had searched for weapons depots in Germany, Poland, Denmark, and Bulgaria as overseas operatives of Hamas. It was the first time a higher regional court in Germany ruled that Hamas qualifies as a terrorist organisation abroad under German criminal law.
