Trial Date Set for Gaza Man Accused of Aiding Hamas in October 7 Attack

DOJ A Gaza man accused of helping Hamas carry out the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel is expected to stand trial in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Jan. 25, 2027. Ahead of the Jan. 25 trial, federal prosecutors submitted a transcript of a call they say Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi made on the morning of the Oct. 7 attack. In the transcript, filed in September, Al-Muhtadi is identified as the speaker who asked another man whether he was ready and told him to bring rifles. Federal agents arrested Al-Muhtadi in Lafayette on Oct. 16, 2025. Prosecutors also accuse him of lying on his U.S. visa application. He has pleaded not guilty. The FBI cited cellphone records that showed Al-Muhtadi’s phone connected to a tower near Kfar Aza, an Israeli community close to the Gaza border, during the assault. Dozens of residents were killed, and about 19 people were taken hostage there. The Justice Department said at least four Americans were among those killed in Kfar Aza. The Justice Department said roughly 1,200 people, including 49 U.S. citizens, were killed in the Oct. 7 assault. About 250 people were taken hostage. The original case accused him of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and committing visa fraud. A superseding indictment added charges of conspiring to provide material support and making a false statement. His trial in Lafayette has been reported as scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027. U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph ruled on Nov. 5 that two Israel Security Agency personnel, an Israeli military witness, and an undercover FBI agent may testify under pseudonyms at Al-Muhtadi’s trial. The courtroom will be closed to the public during their testimony, though members of the public will be able to listen from an overflow room. Al-Muhtadi’s defense opposed the request. Federal investigators allege Al-Muhtadi belonged to the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Gaza-based group joined the Hamas-led attack. Al-Muhtadi took up arms after learning the assault was underway, recruited others, and crossed from Gaza into southern Israel to help carry it out, according to the FBI’s complaint. The visa allegations stem from an application Al-Muhtadi submitted in June 2024. Prosecutors say he gave false answers about his ties to armed groups, his military training, and his role in the Oct. 7 attack. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) records show he entered the country on Sept. 12, 2024, according to the Justice Department. Federal agents arrested him in Lafayette on Oct. 16, 2025. The Justice Department said its Oct. 7 task force located Al-Muhtadi in the United States. Then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi formed the task force in February 2025 to investigate the attack. Bondi said the arrest was part of a broader Justice Department effort to prosecute those accused of helping carry out the Oct. 7 attack. She said: 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. 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. The FBI’s New Orleans field office worked the case with help from Israeli authorities and Louisiana law enforcement.