TULSA, Okla. — A federal criminal complaint unsealed this week revealed a man accused of participating in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel first entered the United States and lived in Tulsa before relocating to Louisiana.
The attack is considered the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust that took place in World War II, and it sparked a more than two-year war that is just now beginning to settle down under a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and the people of Palestine.
According to a multi-page affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, 33‑year‑old Mahmoud Amin Ya’ qub Al‑Muhtadi, originally from Gaza, is accused of taking part in the assault by the militant group Hamas and associated fighters on the Israeli border community of the Kfar Aza kibbutz.
The federal filings state Al‑Muhtadi submitted a U.S. visa application in June 2024 from Cairo, Egypt. In it, he denied involvement in any paramilitary organization or terrorist activities. He gave his intended U.S. residence as Tulsa and listed his planned work as “car repairs or food services.”
He entered the country in September 2024 and lived in Tulsa through May 2025 before relocating to Lafayette, Louisiana. During his time in Oklahoma, he was also able to obtain an Oklahoma driver’s license.
Investigators were able to find photos of Al-Muhtadi in an apartment with a glock, court records state, and a witness who knew Al-Muhtadi in Tulsa confirmed to investigators that it was him in a Tulsa apartment with a gun. The gun was not used in the Oct. 7th attack.
Allegations of attack role
The complaint states that on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Al‑Muhtadi armed himself, recruited other fighters and crossed into Israel as part of the attack that left more than 1,200 dead and over 250 kidnapped.
Cell‑phone data cited in the filing placed his device near Kfar Aza during the assault.
Visa fraud and charges
After entering the U.S., the complaint says, Al‑Muhtadi lived quietly for several months, despite being under surveillance. Court documents state he was able to work quietly in a restaurant for work. Authorities accused him of lying on his visa application about his militant background.
He has been charged with visa fraud and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a crime that carries a possible life sentence.
What happens next
Al‑Muhtadi was arrested in Lafayette, Louisiana, and is expected to appear in federal court later this week.
The case is being handled by the U.S. Justice Department’s Joint Task Force “October 7”, created to identify and prosecute individuals connected to the Oct. 7 attack.
As the investigation proceeds, authorities are likely to dig further into how Al‑Muhtadi traveled from Gaza to the U.S., how he obtained his visa, and what activities he engaged in while residing in both Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released the following statement after Al-Muhtadi’s arrest:
“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. We will continue to stand by Jewish Americans and Jewish people around the world against anti-Semitism and terrorism in all its forms.”
