A Louisiana man described by prosecutors as a "monster" was charged Oct. 17 with participating in the Hamas surprise attack in 2023 that sparked the deadly conflict with Israel.

Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi, 33, was arrested in Lafayette, Louisiana, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. The native of Gaza belonged to a Palestinian military group, according to court papers. On the day of Hamas’ attack, cell phone location data placed him at the scene of a kibbutz just outside the Gaza Strip where dozens of people were killed and 19 people captured.

"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," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement announcing the arrest. "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."

Al-Muhtadi’s arrest on Oct. 16 comes over two years after the attack that left 1,200 people dead and 251 kidnapped, according to Israel’s government. The nation responded by launching a devastating campaign that flattened much of the densely populated enclave and killed over 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The suspected terrorist fighter entered the U.S. on Sept. 12, 2024, by providing false information on a visa application, according to prosecutors.

The last 20 remaining living hostages in Gaza were returned to Israel on Oct. 13 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. Hamas returned the bodies of some deceased hostages on Oct. 14.

Al-Muhtadi was a fighter in the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He also fought in the National Resistance Brigades, a Gaza-based paramilitary group he stood with on Oct. 7, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say he participated in the attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a small community barely two miles from the border with Gaza.

"When Al-Muhtadi learned of the unfolding barbaric attack on Israel and civilians from multiple nations, including the United States, he sprang into action. He armed himself, recruited additional marauders, and then entered Israel, where there is evidence placing him near one of the worst-hit Israeli communities," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "Subsequently, Al-Muhtadi fraudulently obtained a visa to enter the United States where he hoped to remain undetected. This arrest is the first public step in bringing to justice those responsible for harming Americans on that day."

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Al-Muhtadi was found by Joint Task Force October 7, a group Bondi created to go after people involved in the Oct. 7 attacks.

An attorney for Al-Muhtadi could not be reached. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI did not respond to further questions about the case.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US charges Louisiana man with participating in deadly Hamas atrocities that sparked war

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect