Hamas Was Plotting Attacks in Berlin and Vienna to Mark Second Anniversary of Israel Massacre

German prosecutors have charged a group accused of plotting attacks in Berlin and Vienna targeting Israeli and Jewish sites. According to the German newspaper Welt, which cites the text of the indictment (not yet officially published), the attacks were planned to take place simultaneously or nearly simultaneously around October 7, 2025 — the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

Weapons Smuggled Through Denmark

In connection with the planned attacks, German authorities arrested seven men in 2025. One of them had been secretly cooperating with German counterintelligence and disclosed a significant part of the plot. Thanks to this, police were able to detain three suspects in Berlin just six days before the planned attack — during the handover of a weapons container.

According to the indictment, another defendant in the case recorded a video in Vienna in August 2025 claiming responsibility on behalf of the "Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades," Hamas's military wing. In the footage, a masked man stood holding a weapon in front of the group's flag and threatened retaliatory attacks in Europe.

Prosecutors say the conspiracy would have represented a qualitative shift in Hamas's activities in Europe: even before the October 7, 2023 attack, there were plans to establish and train operational cells on the continent, using Turkey as a base and directing attacks remotely from abroad.

A Hideout in a Clothing Warehouse

According to case files, the purchase and transport of several pistols and automatic weapons through Denmark to Berlin were coordinated from Lebanon, where a Hamas representative oversaw weapons procurement across Europe. Part of the weapons were later transferred from the German capital to Vienna, where the conspirators hid them in a clothing warehouse.

The case is now being heard by the state security division of Berlin's Higher Regional Court. The trial is expected to become one of the most significant terrorism proceedings in Germany in recent years.

Source: novinky.cz