Key facts
- Hamas planned coordinated terrorist attacks in Berlin and Vienna for the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre.
- The planned attacks were to occur around Oct. 7, 2025.
- Principal targets included Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centers, and pro-Israel demonstrations.
- An international weapons-procurement network moved pistols, an automatic rifle, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition through Denmark, Germany, and Austria.
- Seven men have been charged and remain in pretrial detention.
- One accused was a confidential informant for Germany's domestic intelligence agency.
German prosecutors have filed a 214-page indictment alleging that Hamas planned coordinated terrorist attacks in Berlin and Vienna to coincide with the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. The attacks were intended to occur around Oct. 7, 2025, targeting Israeli and Jewish interests in both European capitals.
The plot involved an international weapons-procurement network that moved firearms and ammunition through Denmark, Germany, and Austria. According to the indictment, the objective was to develop the capability to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in the West, moving beyond Hamas's long-standing activities in Europe such as fundraising and propaganda.
Seven men have been charged in connection with the plot and are currently in pretrial detention. Notably, one of the accused was reportedly working as a confidential informant for Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, though files suggest he did not fully disclose his involvement in obtaining ammunition. The indictment also indicates that plans for operational cells in Europe, using Turkey as a base, existed even before the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
The operation began to unravel on Oct. 1, 2025, when German authorities arrested three suspects in Berlin during the handover of weapons. Investigators seized an assault rifle, eight pistols, and over 600 rounds of ammunition. The group reportedly operated two coordinated weapons channels, one supplying the Berlin arsenal and another moving weapons to Vienna. One suspect allegedly recorded a claim-of-responsibility video in Vienna in August 2025, threatening acts of revenge in Europe on behalf of Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The case is now before the state-security division of Berlin’s highest state court and is considered one of Germany’s most significant terrorism prosecutions in recent years.