U.S. authorities arrest a Palestinian from Gaza on charges of supporting Hamas.

U.S. authorities announced on Friday the arrest of a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip suspected of involvement in the October 7, 2023 attack launched by Hamas on the occupied territories, in addition to providing information that authorities say is false, to obtain a visa to enter the United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated in a press release that security personnel arrested Mahmoud Al-Muhtadi (33 years old), who was residing in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Thursday, noting that he appeared before a federal judge on Friday and was charged with two counts of supporting a "foreign terrorist organization" and providing false information to obtain a visa, according to court documents.

The indictment states that "on the morning of October 7, 2023, Al-Muhtadi learned of Hamas's incursion and armed himself and gathered others and crossed into the territories under occupation with the aim of assisting Hamas in the attack," adding that "evidence indicates that Al-Muhtadi's phone used a cell tower located near Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel, which is a site of the Hamas attack and its supporters."

The indictment also included excerpts from phone calls believed to have been made by Al-Muhtadi on the morning of the attack to discuss his plans to join the operation.

The Department of Justice stated that his arrest was based on information provided by the Israeli occupation government, and the results of a joint task force formed to investigate the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 49 Americans among more than 1,200 fatalities on the Israeli side.

Al-Muhtadi faces charges of conspiracy to provide material support, in addition to providing false statements to obtain a visa to enter the United States.

The announcement of his arrest comes days after a ceasefire agreement between the Israeli occupation state and Hamas, following a bloody war that resulted in the martyrdom of 67,967 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the sector, figures that the United Nations described as credible.