Man who fought for Hamas in October 7 attack fled to US and lived in Louisiana, FBI alleges

According to complaint, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi participated in attack on Israel, then applied for US visa

The FBI has accused a Louisiana resident of participating in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 – then lying about his past and fraudulently obtaining a visa to live in the US.

According to a recently unsealed FBI criminal complaint, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi armed himself and gathered a group to cross from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel during the attack that left more than 1,200 people dead.

Hamas fighters also kidnapped more than 250 people, including dozens of US citizens, during the raid. On 13 October, Hamas released the 20 remaining living hostages after the two sides agreed to a tenuous ceasefire in Palestine.

Al-Muhtadi was an operative of the Gaza-based military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the complaint prepared by FBI supervisory special agent Alexandria M Thoman O’Donnell and submitted to a federal judge on 6 October. O’Donnell serves on a taskforce investigating the murder and kidnapping of American citizens during the 7 October attack.