A suspected Hamas terrorist, reportedly granted asylum a year from the Gaza war, was arrested by Greek police for allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise line.

The Gaza man, 37, was arrested on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday for his alleged ties to one of four suspected Hamas terrorists previously arrested in Cyprus, having traveled with him to Malaysia, where they allegedly received training in making explosives from commercially available chemical agents.

The Israeli cruise ship MS Crown Iris was the believed target of the attack before it was scheduled to arrive in Crete on Tuesday. Police did not publicly identify the man or name a target in their initial statement.

Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards, The Associated Press reported.

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The suspect, an electrician who has been reportedly living in Crete for the past year and working at a hotel there after being granted asylum, will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.

The suspected terrorist had placed an online order for what police said were "chemical agents" that could be used in the manufacture of explosives, according to the report.

State broadcaster ERT, cited by Israeli and Greek media, reported that police also found laboratory equipment.

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The case appears to be part of a broader regional counterterrorism probe. Cypriot authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after intelligence led investigators to materials in two residences that police said could be used to manufacture explosives. Two more Palestinian men were detained May 29 as part of the same investigation, according to Greek police.

The Crown Iris has become a recurring flashpoint at Greek ports amid anger over the war in Gaza. Protesters gathered near the ship when it docked in Piraeus on Wednesday, June 3, and demonstrations against the vessel have followed it at Greek ports since last year.

Protesters allege that Mano Maritime, the owner of the MS Crown Iris, is profiting from the Hamas-Israel war by selling tourist services to Israel Defense Forces soldiers during breaks from active duty.

In July 2025, Greek police used tear gas and made arrests as demonstrators tried to block the ship at Agios Nikolaos on Crete.

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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced formal charges against the suspect.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greek authorities arrested a 37-year-old Palestinian man in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, on Saturday, preventing an alleged plot to detonate explosives on a cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists. The suspect is accused of being an operative for Hamas. He was apprehended in a highly classified joint operation by Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) and the Anti-Terrorist Unit.

Intelligence officials moved quickly to detain the man just days before the targeted cruise ship was scheduled to dock in Crete on Tuesday. While the suspect reportedly claimed during interrogation that he had planned an attack but ultimately backed out, Greek authorities remain unconvinced and are treating the threat as exceptionally serious.

The connection of the Hamas associate in Greece to Cyprus

The success of the Greek investigation originated from a coordinated intelligence effort with Cyprus. Approximately two weeks ago, Cypriot authorities arrested four individuals suspected of planning strikes against Israeli interests in the European Union, allegedly motivated by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

During the investigation in Cyprus, intelligence officers analyzed mobile phones belonging to the suspects. A specific phone number surfaced as a critical link, leading Greek counter-terrorism units directly to the 37-year-old in Crete.

Security services in Greece noted that the suspects in both countries received specialized training at a camp outside the Gaza Strip. This training specifically focused on manufacturing improvised explosives using chemical substances. Officials in Nicosia consider the group found in Cyprus deeply concerning, noting that two of the arrested individuals had lived in Cyprus for years and had reportedly even managed to obtain Cypriot citizenship. One of the suspects in Cyprus has already admitted to planning attacks against Israeli targets.

The suspect in Crete

The man arrested in Crete arrived in Greece approximately one year ago and filed an active asylum application. He integrated quietly into the local workforce, taking a seasonal job at a hotel in Agios Nikolaos. Local reports indicate he had no family on the island and intentionally maintained a low profile to avoid arousing suspicion.

Following his arrest on Saturday afternoon, Greek counter-terrorism officers raided his current residence in Crete, alongside a property he previously occupied in the Patissia neighborhood of Athens. Investigators confiscated several items that could be used as evidence against his plot. Among them, Greece’s anti-terrorism unit found chemical substances and laboratory measuring equipment, a number of mobile phones, laptops, and USB data storage drives, as well as bank cards and financial documents.

Law enforcement did not find assembled explosive devices or firearms during the raids. Intelligence assessments indicate the suspect was in the final stages of preparation for the plot but was intercepted before he could formally order the final explosive components.

The 37-year-old remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before a public prosecutor. Greece’s EYP and the Anti-Terrorist Unit are actively tracing his movements, communications, and potential local contacts to verify whether he operated alone within Greece.

Un’ispezione per chiarire quanto accaduto e verificare modalità e contenuti dell’iniziativa. È la decisione dell’Ufficio scolastico regionale dell’Emilia-Romagna dopo le polemiche scoppiate attorno a un incontro svoltosi nei giorni scorsi a Modena con la partecipazione di alunni di una scuola primaria e dell’infanzia e al quale, secondo quanto riportato dalla stampa, avrebbe preso parte anche una persona indagata nell’ambito dell’inchiesta della Procura di Genova sui presunti finanziamenti ad Hamas che ha portato lo scorso dicembre a nove arresti.

La vicenda nasce da un articolo pubblicato da Il Giornale, secondo cui all’evento avrebbero partecipato il giornalista palestinese Wael Dahdouh, indicato come referente di Al Jazeera a Gaza, e Sulaiman Hijazi, coinvolto nell’indagine della magistratura genovese. Durante l’incontro, sempre secondo la ricostruzione del quotidiano, sarebbe stato intonato anche lo slogan “Free Free Palestine”. In una nota, l’Ufficio scolastico regionale ha spiegato di aver “prontamente avviato approfondimenti per quanto di competenza” e di aver disposto un’ispezione per fare luce sull’accaduto, precisando che restano esclusi dagli accertamenti gli aspetti che non rientrano nelle competenze dell’amministrazione scolastica.

Sulla vicenda è intervenuto anche il ministro dell’Istruzione, Giuseppe Valditara, che ha chiesto di conoscere al più presto gli esiti delle verifiche. “Qualora risultasse vero, come riportano alcuni media, che a Modena bambini delle scuole primarie e dell’infanzia avrebbero partecipato a un incontro con la presenza di una persona che la stampa indica come indagato per fatti riconducibili all’articolo 270-bis del Codice penale, sarebbe un fatto grave“, ha affermato il ministro. Valditara ha poi aggiunto: “Se qualcuno pensa ancora di poter fare della scuola un luogo di indottrinamento e di propaganda sbaglia. Questo ministero non lo consentirà”.

A replicare alle polemiche è stato il sindaco di Modena, Massimo Mezzetti, presente all’iniziativa per circa un’ora. In una lettera, il primo cittadino ha spiegato che l’incontro si è svolto in uno spazio pubblico cittadino nell’ambito di un progetto promosso da insegnanti del Movimento Cooperazione Educativa. Mezzetti ha raccontato di aver dialogato con i bambini soprattutto su temi legati alla vita quotidiana, come i parchi, l’inquinamento, le palestre e il verde pubblico. Il sindaco ha inoltre precisato che durante la sua permanenza non si sarebbe mai parlato del conflitto israelo-palestinese né sarebbero stati intonati slogan politici. “Se questo è accaduto dopo che io sono andato via, e non ho ragione di dubitare della vostra ricostruzione, lo giudico assolutamente inopportuno”, ha scritto.

Quanto alla presenza di Sulaiman Hijazi, Mezzetti ha sostenuto di non essere stato a conoscenza della sua identità. Secondo la sua ricostruzione, Dahdouh era stato invitato dalle insegnanti per testimoniare la propria esperienza di vita nella Striscia di Gaza e sarebbe stato accompagnato da una persona che svolgeva il ruolo di interprete. “Non conoscevo le generalità e, di riflesso, la delicata indagine nella quale è coinvolto”, ha spiegato il sindaco.

L'articolo Incontro con gli alunni di una scuola di Modena alla presenza di un indagato per terrorismo. Avviata una ispezione proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.