Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Articles & Testimony
Perhaps, given the ceasefire deal, the group will rein in its operations abroad to avoid giving Israel reason to resume the war, but the involvement of senior group leaders in plots targeting Denmark, Sweden, and other countries has justifiably drawn law enforcement attention.
Hamas has never carried out a successful terrorist attack outside of Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza—but not for lack of plotting. Over the years, the group came close to carrying out attacks abroad several times, but these were either thwarted or aborted before execution. Now, recent criminal cases in Germany and Denmark reveal that Hamas set in motion contingency planning for possible attacks in Europe several years before the October 7 massacre, including stashing small arms in weapons caches in multiple European countries. In the context of planning for the October 7 attacks, Hamas planned to make these weapons available to operatives in Europe, according to German authorities. Following the October 7 attacks, leaders of Hamas’ Qassam Brigades based in Lebanon sent operatives to find these weapons, while others in Denmark were tasked to work with a European organized crime group to procure drones and plot attacks in Denmark or Sweden. With Hamas’ operational capabilities in Gaza decimated, and the group looking to find other ways to carry out attacks, European and Israeli officials fear that Hamas has taken the decision to go global and carry out plots abroad, marking a significant departure from the group’s prior modus operandi...
