• Italian police arrested nine people for allegedly raising €7 million for Hamas.
• Funds were diverted from purported humanitarian charities to support terrorist activities.
• The investigation followed suspicious financial transactions after the October 7 Hamas attack.

Italian authorities have arrested nine individuals suspected of raising approximately €7 million (around $8.24 million) for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. These funds, reportedly collected under the guise of humanitarian aid, were allegedly diverted to entities linked to Hamas, as stated by prosecutors in Genoa. Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, who was described as the "head of the Italian cell of the Hamas organisation" according to Indiatimes and South China Morning Post.

The investigation, which began after the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, revealed a “complex fundraising system” operating in Italy's financial landscape. Authorities seized assets exceeding €8 million as part of the crackdown on these operations. The funds raised were intended for the civilian population in Gaza but were instead funneled to Hamas’s military wing and used to support families of individuals implicated in terrorism, reports BBC and Reuters.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi remarked that the operation had “lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations.” These insights were echoed in reports from Channel News Asia.