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Police in at least 3 European countries arrest suspects for allegedly planning terror attacks tied to Israel-Hamas war
(JTA) — Police in at least three European countries have arrested people they said were threatening or planning terror attacks related to the Israel-Hamas war.
The arrests come amid a global spike in antisemitic incidents following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that has spurred an ongoing Israeli military response in Gaza. While police have offered widely ranging levels of detail about the threats they said they interrupted, they believe Israelis were possibly the intended targets of multiple plots.
In Duisburg, a German city of about 500,000 located near the Netherlands border, a man previously convicted of terrorism was arrested after police said he shared with an associate in Syria that he was planning an attack, possibly against a pro-Israel demonstration. The man had previously trained with ISIS in Syria, according to local reports.
In England, The Telegraph newspaper reported that a man who arrived in the country in 2020 had been arrested after committing some kind of attack that he said he committed because children had been harmed in Gaza. But while police told the newspaper that they had made an arrest, they did not disclose any further information about the man or the nature of the attack. Security analysts said they might be withholding information in an effort not to inspire copycats.
In Brussels, a Palestinian man was arrested after telling a federal refugee support agency that he was distressed by what was happening in Gaza and hoped to ”die as a martyr by blowing himself up.” The man had applied in September for asylum in Belgium but missed an appointment after learning that members of his family had been killed in Gaza, according to local news reports.
In addition, police in Italy arrested two men whom they had identified as recruiters for ISIS in Europe, saying that they had decided to intervene because the war had heightened the risk of Islamic extremists taking action. The arrests came a day after gunmen allegedly tied to ISIS killed two people at a soccer game in Belgium.
Concerns about Hamas-inspired attacks are on the rise around the world. A wave of mass pro-Palestinian demonstrations since Oct. 7 have also caused anxiety for police and many Jews.
In some cases, local authorities have cracked down on the rallies, drawing criticism from free-speech advocates. In others, they have allowed the rallies to proceed, to the chagrin of pro-Israel advocates who say the rallies give voice to violent threats and antisemitic sentiments.
News also emerged this month about the indictment in August and September, before the Hamas attack, of four teenagers from France and Belgium who police said acted as a terror cell and were planning attacks on Jews, including at the Israeli embassy near Brussels.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.