A Palestinian man has been arrested in the US state of Louisiana on terrorism-related charges for alleged involvement in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Justice Department said Friday.
Mahmoud Amin Yaaqub Al-Muhtadi, 33, is also accused of lying on the visa application he submitted in Cairo to enter the United States in September 2024.
According to court documents, Al-Muhtadi was a Gaza-based operative of the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"On the morning of October 7, 2023, Al-Muhtadi learned about the Hamas invasion, armed himself, gathered others, and crossed into Israel with the intention of assisting in Hamas's terrorist attack," the criminal complaint said.
"Evidence shows that Al-Muhtadi's phone utilized a cell tower located near Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel, the location of a horrifying massacre by Hamas and its supporters," it added.
The criminal complaint includes excerpts from telephone calls purportedly made by Al-Muhtadi on the morning of October 7 discussing his plans to join the attack.
The Justice Department said Al-Muhtadi's arrest stemmed from information received from the Israeli government and the work of a joint task force set up to investigate the October 7 attack, which left 49 Americans among the more than 1,200 dead.
Al-Muhtadi, who was living in Lafayette, Louisiana, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and visa fraud.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last week after a war that killed at least 67,967 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
