Italian authorities have arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through Italy based charities, prosecutors said on Saturday, in an operation coordinated by anti mafia and anti terrorism units.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Genoa said the suspects are accused of “belonging to and having financed” Hamas, which the European Union classifies as a terrorist organisation.

Investigators said the group allegedly diverted about 7 million euros collected over the past two years for purported humanitarian purposes to entities linked to Hamas. Police seized assets valued at more than 8 million euros during the operation.

The investigation was launched after suspicious financial transactions were identified and later expanded through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other European Union countries, with coordination provided by the EU judicial agency Eurojust.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the operation, thanking investigators for “a particularly complex and important operation” that uncovered financing for Hamas through what she described as “so called charity organisations”.

Israel’s prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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