Italy has detained 9 individuals in connection with purported funding of Hamas via charitable organizations

In an operation led by anti-terrorism and anti-mafia teams, Italian prosecutors said on Saturday that they had detained nine individuals on suspicion of funding Hamas through Italian NGOs.

Prosecutors in Genoa, in northern Italy, said in a statement that the suspects are accused of “belonging to and having financed” the Palestinian group, which the European Union has designated as a terrorist organization.

Prosecutors claimed that around 7 million euros ($8.24 million) raised over the previous two years for purportedly humanitarian reasons were allegedly channeled to Hamas-affiliated organizations by those detained. Assets valued at over 8 million euros were confiscated by police.

Following the flagging of questionable financial activities, the investigation was extended through collaboration with Dutch authorities and other EU nations, overseen by the EU judicial agency Eurojust.

The government was commended by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for “a particularly complex and important operation” that had discovered funding for Hamas through “so-called charity organizations.”

A request for comment from the Israeli prime minister’s office was not immediately answered.

In Italy, Meloni’s backing of Israel throughout its conflict with Hamas in Gaza has led to several, sizable street demonstrations.

The health ministry of the enclave reports that over 71,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s attack on Gaza. It was set off by an October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught on southern Israel that, according to Israeli estimates, claimed about 1,200 lives.