A Gazan native living in the United States on a fraudulent visa reportedly armed himself and assembled a group of fighters to invade Israel after learning that the terror group Hamas broke through Israel’s border defenses and launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi is a 33-year-old resident of Lafayette, Louisiana, according to a Friday announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court documents allege that Al-Muhtadi is part of the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This Gaza-based paramilitary group is said to have participated in the Hamas-led terror attack in southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and took around 250 others hostage.
“After hiding out in the United States, this monster has been found and charged with participating in the atrocities of October 7 — the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. “While nothing can fully heal the scars left by Hamas’s brutal attack, this Department’s Joint Task Force October 7 is dedicated to finding and prosecuting those responsible for that horrific day, including the murder of dozens of American citizens.”
Prosecutors say Al-Muhtadi’s phone utilized a cell tower near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the sight of a deadly masacre carried out by Hamas and its supporters. Many were killed, including four American citizens, the department said.
“We will continue to stand by Jewish Americans and Jewish people around the world against anti-Semitism and terrorism in all its forms,” Bondi vowed.
On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, called on “All Arab and Islamic forces to unite” and follow Hamas, advising those who joined the terror group’s attack to “kill [Israelis] wherever you overtake them.”
As a then-Gaza-based member of the DFLP, according to the complaint, Al-Muhtadi responded after 8 a.m. to Hamas’ request for help in killing Israelis and Jews. The suspect reportedly told others that he planned to cross into Israel, and he spent the next two hours recruiting a group of armed fighters to join him.
At approximately 10:01 a.m., Al-Muhtadi’s phone connected to a cell tower near Kfar Aza in Israel, a kibbutz community in southern Israel situated near the border of the Gaza Strip. Around 60 people in the community were murdered during Hamas’ terrorist attack two years ago.
“As set forth in documents filed yesterday, on October 7, when Al-Muhtadi learned of the unfolding barbaric attack on Israel and civilians from multiple nations, including the United States, he sprang into action. He armed himself, recruited additional marauders, and then entered Israel, where there is evidence placing him near one of the worst-hit Israeli communities,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in the DOJ’s Friday press release.
“Subsequently, Al-Muhtadi fraudulently obtained a visa to enter the United States where he hoped to remain undetected,” Eisenberg added. “This arrest is the first public step in bringing to justice those responsible for harming Americans on that day.”
In June 2024, Al-Muhtadi submitted a U.S. visa application, the court document stated. On the application, the Gazan native claimed that he was not affiliated with a terrorist organization, that he had not received any specialized training, including firearm usage or explosives, and that he had not participated in any terrorist activities.
Al-Muhtadi entered the United States through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in September 2024 after meeting with a U.S. Embassy consular official one month prior. He lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for several months, according to the court document, which also highlighted several social media photos of Al-Muhtadi posing with a gun in his Tulsa-based apartment.
In early June, FBI agents located Al-Muhtadi living in Lafayette and working in a local restaurant.
“October 7 is a day that lives in infamy for so many, Gentile and Jew alike, because of the terrorist attack on Israel that began a wave of antisemitic violence,” U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana said.
“Let this arrest serve as a reminder both that those who perpetrate acts of terrorism cannot evade justice by hiding in our communities and that state, local, and federal law enforcement — here, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Louisiana State Police, Lafayette Police Department, and Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office — are working tirelessly to bring these people to justice,” Keller added.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
