An exclusive intelligence report reveals that Hamas is actively spreading its terror network across Europe, establishing secret arms dumps and operational cells, with the United Kingdom among the nations now facing a significant threat.
From Gaza to Europe: A Strategic Shift
Despite being severely degraded in its Gaza stronghold—with its leadership slain, command structure dismantled, and most fighters killed—Hamas has not become a spent force. Instead, it has strategically expanded its influence far beyond the Middle East. According to the intelligence document, the group has spread its operational reach into the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland.
This expansion has been facilitated behind the scenes by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. The primary targets for these European-based operatives are believed to be Israeli diplomatic missions, businesses with Israeli links, and Jewish religious sites.
Weapons, Drones, and Criminal Networks
The group's European preparations are extensive. Intelligence indicates hidden caches of weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, have been prepositioned on the continent. Alarmingly, Hamas is also expanding into the use of drone warfare.
The report details that the group, supported from Lebanon and Iran, has cultivated close links to organised crime networks in Eastern Europe. These connections are crucial for sourcing deadly weapons and facilitating logistics. This shift towards external operations was not a recent, desperate move but part of a long-term plan. The document states that Hamas plotted its European expansion long before its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
That assault, which sparked the ongoing war resulting in over 70,000 Palestinian and 2,000 Israeli deaths, fundamentally altered the landscape. “The 7th October 2023 assault... reshaped Hamas’ calculations,” the report says. With its Gaza infrastructure catastrophically damaged, the group’s remaining commanders, particularly those in Lebanon, began activating long-developed contingency plans for operations abroad.
An Elevated and Enduring Threat to the UK
The current threat level of a terror attack in the UK, as assessed by MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, remains at “substantial,” meaning an attack is likely. While the primary threat is still from Islamic State loyalists, the risk from Hamas is growing.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former adviser to the UK government on terrorism, told the Daily Mirror: “It is entirely possible that Hamas will feel the need to launch attacks outside Gaza and in Europe... Europe would be a place to expect attacks of this sort and the threat is apparently quite real.” He added that Britain would increasingly need to rely on Israeli intelligence to help disrupt such attempts.
The intelligence assessment warns that the more Hamas is degraded within Gaza, the more likely it becomes to launch attacks in Europe to demonstrate resilience. The short-term outlook for the next six months includes a “high likelihood” of continued attempts at external operations in Europe.
Hamas is expected to rely on small, compartmentalised cell structures, similar to those once used by the IRA, supported by pre-positioned weapons and criminal facilitators. The report concludes that the threat of Hamas-directed international terrorism is likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future, even if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza, as the operational networks it has built would remain intact.
