The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has indicted a man who allegedly procured drone parts worth nearly €1.4 million for Hezbollah. According to a statement from the agency on Tuesday, two of the engines he supplied were installed in explosive drones used in attacks on Israel. One drone struck a retirement home in the Israeli city of Herzliya near Tel Aviv, where around 200 people were staying.
Fadel Z., a Lebanese national, is accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. The charges before the Celle Higher Regional Court also include 47 violations of an EU embargo regulation and aiding and abetting attempted murder. The man is alleged to have worked as a foreign operator for Hezbollah’s drone program since August 2022 at the latest, initially from Spain, later from Germany. According to the indictment, he purchased more than 2,000 engines, over 600 propellers, and almost eleven tons of epoxy resin from companies in Europe, China, and the USA. To conceal their origin, he used front companies for orders and payments. He then organized the transport of the goods to Lebanon.
In the attack on the retirement home on October 11, 2024, the bomb reportedly exploded inside the building, but no one was injured. The militant Islamist Hezbollah aims to destroy Israel. Fadel Z. was arrested in July 2024 and has been in custody since then.
