Germany arrests Hamas suspect 'born in Lebanon'

BEIRUT — A 36-year-old man suspected of belonging to Hamas was arrested late Friday at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport after arriving on a flight from Beirut, Germany’s Der Spiegel reported.

The suspect was arrested at about 11 p.m. local time as he disembarked the plane, according to the news magazine, citing sources involved in the case. The report was later echoed by several media outlets, including Israeli and Lebanese ones.

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Born in Lebanon and identified only by his first name and initial, the suspect was on a wanted list maintained by the Bundeskriminalamt, Germany’s federal criminal police office. Federal prosecutors accuse him of being a Hamas member and part of a group of foreign operatives tasked with procuring weapons and ammunition for planned attacks against Israeli and Jewish institutions in Europe. Investigators allege he supplied roughly 300 rounds of ammunition to the network.

He is expected to be transferred from Berlin to Karlsruhe, where he will be brought before an investigating judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment, Der Spiegel reported.

On Nov. 2, 2023 — less than a month after the start of the war in Gaza — Germany's Federal Interior Ministry banned activities of Hamas and the Prisoners' Solidarity Network, Samidoun. The decision immediately went into effect. The measure accuses Hamas of violating German criminal law and endangering key national interests.

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Germany arrests suspected Hezbollah member

European authorities have also stepped-up pressure on Hezbollah since the party opened a support front for Hamas at the day after the start of the Gaza war. The attrition fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated in September 2024 into a full-scale war, which ended in a fragile cease-fire in place since November 2024.

In April of last year, authorities dismantled a Hezbollah logistical support network spanning Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.