Louisiana resident assisted in Hamas 7 October attack, US says

Recently released court documents show U.S. prosecutors have charged a Louisiana resident with participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, 33, is alleged to have joined a paramilitary group fighting alongside Hamas in the 2023 offensive that killed nearly 2,000 people and took 251 hostages.

At least 67,900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the region’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

A year after the attack, Mr Al-Muhtadi allegedly traveled to the US on a fake visa and became a permanent resident.

He was charged with providing, attempting to provide, or conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, fraud, and misuse of visa or other documents.

According to the complaint brought by the FBI, Mr. al-Muhtadi is allegedly an operative of the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

He is accused of coordinating a “group of armed fighters” to cross into Israel after hearing about the attack and asking one person to “bring the rifles,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Al-Muhtadi sent messages asking him to bring a bulletproof vest and ammunition for another man.

According to the documents, it was stated that hours after the October 7 attack began, his phone sent a signal to a cell tower near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and a massacre was observed at this time.

The complaint stated that Mr. Al-Muhtadi denied involvement in terrorist activities on his US visa application.

After coming to the United States, he lived in several places before landing in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he worked at a local restaurant.

The Justice Department said he was arrested Thursday.

At a hearing in Louisiana on Friday, he was asked if he understood the charges against him. According to the New York Times, a translator translated his response as: “Yes, but so many things mentioned here are so wrong that I am innocent.”

The documents do not charge Mr. Al-Muhtadi with specific crimes or murders. Federal prosecutors had previously charged senior members of Hamas with the deaths of American citizens on October 7.