Italian prosecutors have arrested nine people on suspicion of funding terrorist group Hamas through charities based in Italy.
The operation was carried out on December 27 by the anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units of the Italian police.
The suspects have been accused of “belonging to and having financed” the Palestinian group, which the European Union designates as a terrorist organisation, prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Genoa said in a statement.
The arrested individuals are alleged to have transferred funds to the tune of about 7 million euros (US$8.24 million) to Hamas-linked groups, which were raised over the last two years under the guise of collecting funds for humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said.
The police also seized assets worth approximately $9.5 million.
The investigation into the alleged funding is said to have commenced after financial transactions were flagged and expanded through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency, Eurojust.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni lauded the authorities for “a particularly complex and important operation” which had uncovered financing for Hamas through “so-called charity organisations”.
Meloni has faced domestic backlash and protests against her support for the Israeli regime during its war with Hamas in Gaza, which has resulted in over 71,000 deaths (as per data by the Palestinian health ministry) since it began on October 7, 2023.
Also Read: Israel assassinates senior Hamas commander
Follow us
