Italian prosecutors on December 27 (local time) said they had arrested 9 people suspected of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation jointly carried out by anti-mafia and anti-terrorist units. The information was released from Genoa city, northern Italy.
Those arrested are accused of "belonging to Hamas" and "sponsoring" Hamas, a force listed by the European Union (EU) as a terrorist organization.
According to prosecutors, the suspects are said to have transferred about 7 million euros, money donated in the last 2 years for the purpose of being promoted as humanitarian, to entities linked to Hamas. Police also seized assets worth more than 8 million euros within the framework of the campaign.
The investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were discovered and then expanded through cooperation with the Dutch authorities and other countries in the European Union. The coordination was coordinated through the EU justice agency Eurojust, which allows for information sharing and cross-border legal measures.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for a campaign that she described as "particularly complex and important", emphasizing that the investigation results have clarified funding for Hamas through "organizations called charities".
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has not responded to the request for comments related to the incident. Ms. Meloni's support for Israel in the fight with Hamas in Gaza has sparked many large and repeated street protests in Italy.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel's offensive killed more than 71,000 people. The conflict originated from Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people according to Israeli statistics.
