Germany Arrests Suspected Hamas Members, Including Two Lebanese and an Egyptian

Representatives of the German public prosecutor's office revealed in a statement today that four individuals from Hamas were arrested on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. They added that three of the suspects were detained in Berlin, while the fourth was arrested in the Netherlands. Authorities reported that Rotterdam police arrested "Nazih R.," a Dutch national, while Berlin police apprehended Abdul Hamid A. and Ibrahim R., both born in Lebanon, as well as Mohammed B., an Egyptian national. The officials indicated that all four have long-standing ties to Hamas and maintain close connections with the leadership of Hamas's military wing. They noted that Hamas leaders in Lebanon tasked Abdul Hamid A. with procuring weapons. It was mentioned that these weapons were intended to be transferred to Berlin and made available for potential use in terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions. German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann stated in a release regarding the arrests, "Following Hamas's horrific attacks on Israeli civilians, attacks on Jews at Jewish institutions in our country have also increased over the past few weeks." He added, "Therefore, we must do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country no longer feel afraid for their safety." European authorities are warning of the heightened risk of radical extremists carrying out attacks due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.