Italian authorities have arrested nine individuals suspected of financing Hamas through charities, seizing over €8 million in assets.
Italian prosecutors announced on Saturday the arrest of nine people suspected of channelling funds to Hamas via charities operating in Italy. The operation was led jointly by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units in the northern city of Genoa.
According to prosecutors, the suspects are accused of “belonging to and having financed” the Palestinian organisation, which the European Union classifies as a terrorist group. Around €7 million ($8.24 million) raised over the past two years for purported humanitarian purposes was allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities. Authorities also seized assets worth more than €8 million.
The probe began following the detection of suspicious financial transactions and expanded with cooperation from Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the authorities for conducting “a particularly complex and important operation,” which revealed Hamas financing through “so-called charity organisations”.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s office did not immediately comment on the arrests. Meloni’s support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza has sparked repeated protests across Italy. The ongoing conflict has killed over 71,000 people in Gaza, according to its health ministry, following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths, according to Israeli sources.
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