Key actors — tap for context
Jens Rommel
German Federal Public Prosecutor, head of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe since March 2024.
Why here: He is the one who disclosed that the plans of the Hamas-linked cell were further advanced than previously known.
More info →
Hamas
Palestinian Islamist movement controlling the Gaza Strip; its attack of October 7, 2023 triggered the war with Israel.
Why here: According to German justice authorities, it is behind the network that was procuring weapons in Europe.
More info →Federal Public Prosecutor's Office
The highest German criminal prosecution authority, based in Karlsruhe, responsible for terrorism, espionage, and international crimes.
Why here: It is leading the investigation into the entire nine-member network.
A ready-made video and timing for the anniversary
Rommel stated that there are nine suspects in this branch, and that from at least the summer of 2025 they were allegedly involved in transporting and storing weapons and ammunition for Hamas. The first three were arrested on October 1, 2025, in Berlin — just days before the anniversary. It was in the possession of one of them that a prepared video was found, in which the perpetrators were to claim responsibility for the attack. n-tv ↗According to investigators, the weapons were meant to be used for deadly attacks against Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is the highest German law enforcement authority for terrorism, espionage, and international crimes; Rommel has led it since March 2024. Deutschlandfunk ↗
The trail runs through Berlin, Vienna, and Denmark
In the months following the first arrests, six more men were added, not only in Germany. The most recent was arrested in late May in Denmark, with others previously detained in the United Kingdom and Cyprus. According to the prosecution, one of the accused was storing weapons in Vienna. The investigation thus, according to German authorities, reveals a network spanning several European countries. n-tv ↗A first: a German court designates Hamas a terrorist organization
A broader set of Hamas-related investigations in Europe was already signaled at the end of March: the Berlin Kammergericht, the regional higher court there, sentenced four members of another underground cell of the movement to several years in prison. According to the court, these men, acting as foreign operatives of Hamas, sought weapons caches in Germany, Poland, Denmark, and Bulgaria. The ruling also carried precedent-setting significance: for the first time ever, a German higher court ruled that Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization within the meaning of German criminal law. n-tv ↗Why this matters for Central Europe too
The series of arrests across the continent shows that tensions surrounding the Middle East have spilled over into Europe as well. Weapons caches in Poland and Bulgaria, and a storage site in Vienna, mean that the logistics of the alleged network touched Slovakia's immediate neighborhood. German security services also cooperated with foreign partners during earlier operations. Welt ↗What hotinfo is following
- Whether the German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office will bring formal charges against the nine detainees, and when the main trial will begin.
- How courts in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus, where further arrests took place, will handle the case.
- Whether it will be confirmed that the weapons caches in Poland and Bulgaria belonged to the same network.
- Whether the March Berlin precedent (Hamas as a terrorist organization) will be adopted by other European courts as well.
