Greek forces dismantle Hamas-linked sleeper cell plot targeting Israeli cruise ship in Europe.

A suspected sleeper cell operative linked to Hamas was caught working at a luxury hotel in Crete while allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise ship. The scheme aimed to replicate the violence of October 7 within European waters, but Greek forces dismantled it before it could proceed.

The man behind the plot is identified by media reports as Motasem, a 37-year-old Egyptian with Palestinian roots. He was arrested in early June during a raid on his apartment in Athens and at a tourist resort in Agios Nikolaos. At the time of his capture, he had recently started work as an electrician at the high-end hotel where he was employed.

Inside his home, authorities found a collection of dangerous items: chemicals, a precision scale, and other specialized gear used to construct bombs. This equipment confirmed that he was serious about causing harm.

Greek police tracked him down thanks to intelligence passed from Cypriot counterparts. Those officials had arrested two Palestinians near Larnaca weeks prior who were in contact with Motasem. The trail led right back to Crete.

The target of the planned violence is an Israeli cruise ship that regularly stops at Greek ports. These vessels have often found themselves in the middle of anti-Israel protests, making them a likely focus for such groups. An investigation detailed by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung suggests Motasem and four other Palestinians were stopped by police during a previous visit of the ship but walked away without being charged.

This arrest signals growing worry about an organized Hamas presence taking root across Europe. Greece offered specific tactical benefits: the cruise ships provided easy access to high-profile targets, while direct air links connected nearby Larnaca with Beirut, where many Hamas officials operate.

The scope of this network extends far beyond Greece. Motasem reportedly traveled with another Palestinian to Malaysia in 2025, routing through Zurich, Qatar, and Indonesia specifically to learn how to build explosives. This plot is part of a larger wave of arrests across the continent involving suspected members of the group.

Germany has already detained nine men since last October. Operations spanned locations like Copenhagen, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, Larnaca Airport, London, Vienna, and Berlin again. German Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel stated that the network was preparing to strike Jewish or Israeli institutions throughout Europe. Police there recovered a pre-recorded message claiming responsibility for these acts.

Prosecutors believe the group had selected a specific date: the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel in 2025. Investigators described this potential event as a "second October 7th in Europe." Meanwhile, the network quietly moved weapons across Europe over several months to support their efforts.

Around five Glock pistols moved from Denmark to Vienna via Berlin during the summer of 2025. A larger network allegedly smuggled at least thirteen pistols, an AK-47 assault rifle, and more than 900 rounds of ammunition through Scandinavia, Germany, and Austria before Austrian authorities found a weapons cache in Vienna. German investigators also believe Hamas prepared weapons caches in Europe years before the October 7 attacks.

Bulgarian police recovered a suitcase containing weapons and ammunition hidden in woodland near Plovdiv in December 2023 after German investigators traced photographs on the mobile phone of Lebanese national Ibrahim el-Rassatmi. He allegedly received instructions from Lebanese Hamas as early as April 2019 to establish weapons depots. Further caches were created in Denmark and Poland, while investigators suspect additional sites exist near the German-Polish border.

Members of a Hamas cell in Germany were ordered from Lebanon in February 2023 to transport weapons and prepare attacks against Jewish, Israeli, or American targets. Investigators say they conducted surveillance of the US military base at Ramstein, the Israeli embassy in Berlin, and Tempelhofer Feld in the German capital. The report states members of the Berlin cell travelled to Lebanon to meet Khalil al-Kharraz, a senior commander in Hamas' Qassam Brigades who later died from Israeli fire in 2023. Security services reportedly identified several members of the Berlin Hamas cell in footage from Kharraz's funeral.

Hamas has denied any connection to the men arrested across Europe. The organization said these accusations were an attempt to tarnish the movement's reputation and insisted its struggle against the Zionist occupation is limited exclusively to Palestine. However, terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project found that explanation unconvincing. He noted the personnel links to Hamas leadership are too close for such a claim to hold water.

Schindler warned that Hamas' growing weakness following the war with Israel could increase the risk of attacks abroad. His assessment was blunt: Hamas' weakness is not a good sign for Europe in itself. Terrorist organizations seek publicity to demonstrate their continued relevance, he added. An attack in a European city or on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean would generate global attention while placing political pressure on countries viewed as supporters of Israel.