BERLIN โ German federal prosecutors said Wednesday that three men have been arrested and remanded into pretrial detention on suspicion of preparing serious violent acts against Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany. Authorities said the suspects were involved in procuring firearms and ammunition over the summer and that a recent weapons exchange prompted the raid.
Investigators said police seized an AK-47 assault rifle, several pistols, including a Glock, and a large quantity of ammunition during searches linked to the operation. Authorities described the arrests as the result of monitored moves to hand over weapons. Officials said the three were suspected of being foreign operatives for Hamas tasked with acquiring arms to be used in attacks on Jewish targets.
Two of the suspects are German citizens. The third was born in Lebanon. German privacy rules meant full names were not published in some outlets; prosecutors identified them by shortened forms in court filings as Abed Al G., Wael F. M., and Ahmad I. A judge in Karlsruhe ordered the three held pending further legal proceedings as investigators continue to examine links, motives, and any wider network.
The federal prosecutorโs office said its counterterrorism teams had been tracking the suspects since the summer when efforts to procure weapons began. The operation culminated in a controlled police action in which officers intercepted the suspected handover. Searches were also carried out at addresses in other German towns as part of the inquiry. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing and could take months.
Hamas denied any formal link to the arrested men. In a public reaction, the group rejected suggestions that the suspects were its operatives and called the allegations politically motivated. German authorities, however, described the suspects as operatives or supporters acting on behalf of the group and stressed that the arrests were intended to prevent imminent violence.
The arrests come amid heightened concern across Europe about threats to Jewish communities and institutions since the 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. German officials said they would continue to bolster security at Jewish sites and intensify intelligence cooperation with European partners to detect and disrupt plots. Jewish communal organisations in Germany and abroad welcomed the arrests and urged authorities to keep protective measures in place.
Security experts said the case illustrates how violent actors and their sympathizers may attempt to source weapons inside European countries rather than rely solely on imports. That pattern makes domestic policing and intelligence essential to prevention. Analysts also warned that social-media-driven radicalization and small-cell plots remain difficult to detect, increasing the importance of community reporting and rapid law-enforcement response.
German police emphasized that rapid action likely averted a major attack. Federal and state investigators said they would now work to establish whether the suspects were acting under direct orders from Hamas leadership or as local operatives and sympathizers who sought to carry out violence independently. Prosecutors signaled they would pursue all legal avenues, including terrorism and weapons charges, as the evidence supports.
For Jewish communities, the arrests provide a measure of relief but also underscore persistent risk. Community leaders urged continued vigilance and called on authorities to translate the operation into long-term safeguards for synagogues, schools, and cultural centres. Internationally, allied governments said they would continue to support Germanyโs investigations and counterterrorism work.
This article is based on verified information from Reuters, the Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, and CBS News.