1 hour ago
Last Updated:December 28, 2025, 19:18 IST
Italy arrested nine for allegedly financing Hamas via charities. The operation involved Eurojust and followed suspicious transactions flagged by authorities.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (AFP photo)
Italy has arrested nine people for allegedly financing Hamas through charities as part of an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units.
Reuters quoted a statement by prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Genoa stating that the suspects have been accused of “belonging to and having financed" the Palestinian group, which the European Union designates as a terrorist organisation.
The suspects had allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked bodies around 7 million euros that was raised in past two years purportedly humanitarian purposes, the prosecutors said. Police have seized assets worth over 8 million euros.
According to Reuters, the investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged and expanded through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.
Following the arrests, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for “a particularly complex and important operation" which had uncovered financing for Hamas through “so-called charity organisations".
His support for Israel during the war with Hamas triggered large and repeated street protests in Italy.
Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel when Hamas and other armed groups launched the surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and 251 people were taken captive to Gaza. During a brief truce in November 2023, around 100 captives were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
In 2024, the Criminal Court announced it had sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the 7 October attack. The ICC prosecutor also sought warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
First Published:
December 28, 2025, 19:18 IST
News world Italy Arrests 9 For 'Funding' Hamas Through Charities, Assets Worth 8 Million Euros Seized
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