Greek intelligence and police have arrested a 37-year-old Palestinian man in Crete on suspicion of planning an attack against Israeli-linked targets in Europe — finding encrypted electronics, precision scales and online orders for ammonium nitrate at his Athens apartment — as authorities launch a manhunt for two further operatives believed linked to the same Hamas network, one of whom is thought to be hiding in Greece.
The National Intelligence Service arrested the suspect in Agios Nikolaos over the weekend, in an operation coordinated with European, U.S. and Middle Eastern intelligence partners. Investigators say he had previously travelled to Malaysia with a co-conspirator to receive explosives training from a Hamas instructor.
He holds political asylum in Greece and is a Gaza native. He is scheduled to enter formal pleas before a magistrate on Thursday.
Protection of the Citizen Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis described the operation as unprecedented in scope.
"This constitutes a strategic shift by Hamas," Mr. Chrysochoidis said, noting the organisation has historically confined its attacks to Israel and the Palestinian territories throughout its roughly 40-year existence.
He said the cross-border sweep was targeting a wider network of operational cells awaiting deployment orders across Europe.
Police spokesperson Konstantia Dimoglidou said the arrest prevented an attack that was in active preparation.
Forensic teams are continuing to analyse the suspect's digital devices and financial records.
The arrest comes as Greece is already managing a complex security environment — including the Lefkada drone incident, the Hells Angels convention deployment and Turkish military provocations over Cyprus — and places Athens at the centre of a multinational counter-terrorism operation at a moment when European security services are on heightened alert over Hamas activity on the continent.