Tuesday, December 30, 2025 - Italian police have arrested nine people linked to three charitable organizations on suspicion of raising millions in funds for Hamas.
In a statement, anti-terrorism prosecutors said the suspects
are accused of sending about 7 million euros (£6.1 million) to “associations
based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or
linked to Hamas”.
Italian prosecutors, who collaborated with other EU
countries, say the illegal funds were delivered through “triangulation
operations” via bank transfers or through organizations based abroad to
associations based in Gaza.
They say these associations have been declared illegal by
Israel due to their ties to Hamas, which has been designated as a terror group
by both the European Union and the UK.
Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the
Palestinian Association in Italy, prosecutors said, describing him as the “head
of the Italian cell of the Hamas organization”.
Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi wrote on X that
the operation “lifted the veil on behaviour and activities which, pretending to
be initiatives in favour of the Palestinian population, concealed support for
and participation in terrorist organizations”.
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