A US resident participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 2023 before lying about his past and fraudulently obtaining a visa to live in the US, the FBI has said.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed this week, Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al Muhtadi, 33, armed himself and gathered a group to cross from Gaza into southern Israel during the attack.

Suspect denied he had ever been involved in terrorist activities on US visa application

Al Muhtadi was an operative of the Gaza-based military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the complaint, which was prepared by an FBI supervisory special agent who serves on a task force investigating the murder and kidnapping of American citizens during the attack.

The complaint, which was submitted to a federal judge on 6 October, says al Muhtadi denied he had ever been involved in terrorist activities on his US visa application and went on to become a legal permanent resident in 2024.

It said he could face charges for conspiring to provide support for a foreign terrorist organisation and for visa fraud.

Social media accounts reveal Muhtadi asked associate to ‘bring the rifles’, FBI says

Al Muhtadi was arrested on Thursday, according to the US Justice Department.

According to the FBI, al Muhtadi’s social media and email accounts revealed an affiliation with a Hamas-aligned paramilitary group going back years, as well as showing him carrying out firearms training.

On the morning of October 7 2023, al Muhtadi told his associates to “get ready” and “bring the rifles”, adding “there is kidnapping, and it’s a game, which will be a good one,” according to phone calls reviewed by the FBI.

He also asked someone to bring ammunition.

The FBI says al Muhtadi coordinated an armed group to travel into Israel and during the attack his phone pinged a tower near Kfar Aza, an Israeli village where dozens of residents were killed and around 19 kidnapped.