'Hamas sleeper cell terrorist' is found working at luxury Crete hotel 'while preparing cruise ship attack' - as plot to carry out 'second October 7' in Europe is foiled

By ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:45, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 09:46, 22 July 2026 A suspected Hamas operative allegedly worked at a luxury hotel on the Greek island of Crete while preparing for a suspected terror attack targeting an Israeli cruise ship, according to reports. The 37-year-old Egyptian man of Palestinian origin, identified by the media as Motasem, was arrested by Greek special forces in the tourist resort of Agios Nikolaos during a raid in early June after recently taking a job as an electrician at the hotel. Greek police discovered chemicals, a precision scale and other specialist equipment used to make bombs inside his apartment in Athens. Authorities were led to him after receiving intelligence from Cypriot police, who had arrested two Palestinians near Larnaca weeks earlier who were in contact with him. Investigators believe he was planning to attack an Israeli cruise ship that regularly calls at Greek ports and has frequently been the focus of anti-Israel protests. According to the investigation published by Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Motasem and four other Palestinians had previously been stopped by police during one of the ship's visits a year earlier but were not arrested. The case has raised concerns over an increasingly organised Hamas presence in Europe. Greece in particular, offered several strategic advantages, including the cruise ship as a high-profile target and direct air links between nearby Larnaca and Beirut, where many Hamas officials are based. Hamas fighters pictured in Gaza City Hundreds demonstrate against the arrival of Israeli cruise passengers in Agios Nikolaos Hundreds demonstrate against the arrival of Israeli cruise passengers in Agios Nikolaos Motasem and another Palestinian reportedly travelled to Malaysia in 2025 via Zurich, Qatar and Indonesia to learn how to manufacture explosives. The plot comes amid a series of arrests linked to suspected Hamas members across Europe. German authorities have arrested nine men since October last year, including suspects detained near Copenhagen as well as during operations linked to Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, Larnaca Airport, London, Vienna and Berlin. Greek media also reported that Motasem had previously lived in Germany for an extended period. German Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel believes members of the network were planning attacks on Jewish or Israeli institutions in Europe. During their investigation, German police recovered a pre-recorded claim of responsibility and concluded preparations had advanced to the point where a date had allegedly been chosen. According to German prosecutors, the intended date was the second anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel in 2025, leading investigators to describe the alleged plan as a 'second October 7th in Europe'. The network quietly moved weapons across the continent for months. Around five Glock pistols were transported from Denmark to Vienna via Berlin during the summer of 2025. The wider network is alleged to have smuggled at least 13 pistols, an AK-47 assault rifle and more than 900 rounds of ammunition through Scandinavia, Germany and Austria before Austrian authorities uncovered a weapons cache in Vienna. German investigators also believe Hamas had been preparing weapons caches in Europe years before the October 7 attacks. In December 2023, Bulgarian police recovered a suitcase containing weapons and ammunition hidden in woodland near Plovdiv after German investigators traced photographs found on the mobile phone of Lebanese national Ibrahim el-Rassatmi. He had allegedly been instructed by 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. And in February 2023, members of a Hamas cell in Germany were ordered from Lebanon 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 says members of the Berlin cell travelled to Lebanon to meet Khalil al-Kharraz, a senior commander in Hamas' Qassam Brigades who was later killed by the Israeli military in 2023. Security services also reportedly identified several members of the Berlin Hamas cell in footage from Kharraz's funeral. Hamas has however denied any connection to the men arrested across Europe. People fleeing from the Nova Music Festival during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel The organisation said the accusations were an attempt to 'tarnish the movement's reputation' and insisted that its 'struggle against the Zionist occupation' is limited exclusively to Palestine. However, terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project said he did not find that explanation convincing, saying: 'The personnel links to the Hamas leadership are too close.' Schindler said Hamas' growing weakness following the war with Israel could increase the risk of attacks abroad. 'Hamas' weakness is not a good sign for Europe in itself,' he added. He said terrorist organisations seek publicity to demonstrate their continued relevance.  Schindler further suggested that 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.