Joint action cripples Hamas finances as Europe confronts Islamist exploitation enabled by Palestinian-aligned networks.
A coordinated Israeli–Italian intelligence operation has delivered a decisive blow to Hamas’s European infrastructure, with Italian authorities arresting seven senior operatives embedded across the continent. Leading those detained is Mohammed Hannoun, identified as Hamas’s top representative in Italy and a senior figure within the group’s European leadership.
The arrests followed sustained intelligence-sharing between Israel and Italy after an Israeli interagency task force uncovered financial pipelines funneling resources to Hamas’s military and civilian arms. The effort brought together Israel’s Economic Counterterrorism Headquarters (ECT) within the Defense Ministry, the Israel Police Intelligence Division, the IDF Intelligence Division, and the Shin Bet. Evidence and actionable intelligence were transferred through established legal channels to Italian law enforcement.
Italian authorities executed the arrests and seized cash, properties, and additional assets suspected of being used to launder and transfer funds to Hamas operations. Investigators believe the network worked methodically over time to bankroll terror activity—exploiting Europe’s openness while hiding behind political rhetoric and charitable fronts long associated with Palestinian-aligned Islamist groups.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz underscored the message sent by the operation: Hamas and its enablers will find no refuge—neither in the Middle East nor in Europe. He warned that those who imagine they can finance terrorism and disappear abroad are gravely mistaken.
The operation exposes a broader reality confronting Europe: Islamist networks tied to Palestinian terror organizations have embedded themselves within democratic societies, abusing legal protections to move money and influence. Israel’s intelligence-led, law-based approach—focused on choking off financing and dismantling logistics—demonstrates how terrorism is defeated in practice, not excused in theory.
As Arab and Palestinian factions continue to legitimize or downplay Hamas’s global reach, the Israel–Italy operation shows that accountability travels across borders. Terror funding is a crime, and Europe is no longer looking away.
