Swiss Report: Hamas Allegedly Planned a “Second October 7” in Europe

The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung published an investigation today (Tuesday) stating that Hamas had spent years planning to operate in Europe and carry out large-scale attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets. The newspaper described the terror group's plan as a "second October 7."

The investigation focused on a series of probes conducted in several countries, including Greece and Germany, in which Hamas cells were uncovered. The investigations began in early June, following the arrest by Greek special forces of a 37-year-old Egyptian man of Palestinian descent. The man was arrested at the tourist resort of Agios Nikolaos in Crete.

During questioning, he said he had begun working as an electrician at a luxury hotel in order to conceal intelligence-gathering activity on Israeli tourists. Greek police found chemicals, a precision scale, and other specialized bomb-making equipment in the suspect’s apartment in Athens. The man revealed part of Hamas’s plans to carry out attacks.

In another investigation, in Germany, it emerged that before October 7, Hamas had established an infrastructure on the continent. The plan included setting up cells and weapons caches in order to carry out a series of attacks against Jewish institutions. The investigation in Germany found that Hamas had planned to carry out attacks around the second anniversary of October 7, but the plan was foiled following a series of arrests in various European countries. Among those arrested were Hamas operatives in Germany, Austria, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Cyprus.