German prosecutors charge seven suspected Hamas operatives over planned attacks in Berlin and Vienna

Indictment filed in Berlin

Federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe submitted the indictment against seven men to the State Security Senate of the Berlin Kammergericht. The suspects, who hold various nationalities, face charges of membership in a foreign terrorist organization, preparing a serious violent offense endangering the state, and violations of weapons laws and the War Weapons Control Act. The court must now review the filing to decide whether to open main trial proceedings. According to the prosecution, the group operated on instructions from high-ranking Hamas officials to acquire firearms and ammunition across Europe.

Coordinated targets and weapons depots

The indictment alleges that Hamas planned coordinated shootings against Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centers, and pro-Israel demonstrations in both Berlin and Vienna. The operations were scheduled to coincide with the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 assault on Israel. Before the intervention of security forces, the procurement network assembled a functional fully automatic rifle, 13 pistols, and more than 700 rounds of ammunition. An operative transported a portion of these weapons to Austria to establish a storage depot in Vienna.

Surveillance, arrests, and the investigation

German authorities dismantled the core operation on 1 October 2025, six days before the intended date of the attacks. Tactical police units detained three suspects, including Ahmad I. and Lebanese national Wael M., during a weapons handover in a Berlin backyard, seizing a Crvena Zastava assault rifle, eight pistols, and over 600 rounds. When searches began, one suspect discarded ammunition into the Spree river from the Michaelbrücke, which police divers subsequently recovered from the riverbed. Former Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt addressed the operation at the time.

We assume that this threat situation was concrete.

Video confession and international operations

Investigators broadened the probe across multiple countries in November 2025, raiding the Vienna weapons cache and arresting an additional suspect in London on a federal arrest warrant issued in Karlsruhe. The suspect in London remains in extradition custody facing separate proceedings, while one other suspect had their case transferred to Berlin state authorities after prosecutors found insufficient evidence of Hamas ties. Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel detailed key evidence during an annual press briefing in Karlsruhe.

A prefabricated confession video was seized from one of the accused.

Intelligence links and procurement network

The video was recorded on 7 August 2025 in Vienna in front of a Hamas flag, with the speaker declaring revenge on behalf of the Qassam Brigades. Court filings also reveal that one accused individual acted as a confidential informant for Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz, reporting to his handler while concealing his own involvement in purchasing ammunition. Intelligence assessments indicate that Hamas directed the European logistics network remotely from Turkey and Lebanon to conduct armed operations in Western nations. Hamas denied any connection to the detained men. The seven indicted suspects remain held in pretrial custody in facilities including Moabit and Brandenburg.