Israeli intelligence organizations have been working in collaboration with their European counterparts to counter Hamas in Europe, they announced via the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday evening.
Hamas has been working with criminal elements to procure drones for planned attacks across Europe and the Middle East, as ordered by the senior Hamas leadership.
In December, the security services and police in Denmark and Germany announced the arrest of an extensive network of Hamas operatives in Europe, those arrested have since had legal proceedings opened against them.
Further arrests came earlier this week in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.
More information regarding the arrests in Europe is restricted due to the ongoing legal cases in the respective countries.
Terrorists and European street gangs
The assassination of Saleh Arouri earlier this month is linked to the arrests, with the claim being that he was involved in ordering operations across Europe and the Middle East. The two other men killed in the strike that killed Arouri were Samir Fandi and Azzam Akre, both fellow senior Hamas commanders.
Akre had commanded Khalil al-Kharaz the former deputy commander of Hamas forces in Lebanon until his assassination in November.
Kharaz was in charge of the Hamas cells operating in Europe, the very same ones arrested by European security services, which had been involved in the purchase of drones for planned attacks.
Kharaz is claimed to have been involved in building relations with a Danish street gang called "LTF - Loyal To Familia," who were banned by Denmark in 2021.
LTF is charged with working on behalf of Hamas in Europe, including but not limited to Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, with some members now believed to be operating out of Lebanon.
The use of local criminal gangs as a facade for terror activity is a common element of Iranian intelligence and terror operations, often used to maintain a space for denial of involvement.
The integration of inter-organizational resources in Israel and across the world led to a comprehensive and in-depth picture of Hamas's terrorist activity development, including details about Hamas's actions and targets of attacks.
The intelligence also revealed who was involved in implementing terror activity, from the Hamas commanders in Lebanon to the last member in their operational infrastructure.
One piece of information discovered was about an intention to attack the Israeli embassy in Sweden, this required the purchase of drones and the use of criminal organizations close to Hamas in Europe.
"Hamas draws inspiration from the terrorist activities of the Iranian regime, and like it, aims to hit Israeli, Jewish, and Western targets at any cost," the PMO said in a press release.
"The Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the IDF, in partnership with international security and enforcement bodies, will continue to work to thwart the terrorist intentions of Hamas and all terrorist organizations, to come to terms with them anywhere in the world for the security of the State of Israel and the Jewish people."