A Gaza terrorist who fled to the U.S. after the October 7 attack mocked his victims and joked about the bloodbath on the phone, transcripts released by federal prosecutors show. Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, accused of committing acts of terror on October 7, 2023, was arrested last year at his home in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Al-Muhtadi was heard calling the massacre of innocent Israeli men, women, and children a “celebration.” He referred to kidnapping as a “game” and rejoiced that he caught Israeli defenders off guard in the wake of Jewish festivities. Reveling in death and carnage, he hoped that “If things go the way they should, Syria will take part, Lebanon will take part, and it’s going to be a third world war.”
Al-Muhtadi, an operative of the Gaza-based Martyr Umar al-Qasim Forces terrorist group, organized and led a terrorist unit to join the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. According to the Justice Department, the 33-year-old terrorist “learned about the Hamas invasion, armed himself, gathered others, and crossed into Israel with the intention of assisting in Hamas’s terrorist attack.”
Widely reported in the media as the “Louisiana man,” the suspected terrorist entered the U.S. in 2024, making false claims in his visa application. “A year after the attack, Mr al-Muhtadi allegedly travelled to the US on a fraudulent visa and became a permanent resident,” the BBC observed. More than 1,200 people were murdered in the terror attack, including 46 U.S. citizens. Out of 251 hostages taken on that day, 12 were Americans.
He was well aware of the consequences of his actions and even hoped for a harsh Israeli response. “From now till the afternoon, half of Gaza will be lost,” he said.
The Times of Israel published excerpts from the disturbing phone calls made on October 7, 2023:
Gaza terrorists joked about the October 2023 invasion of Israel as the attack was taking place, according to contemporaneous phone calls released in a US federal investigation on Tuesday that gave an inside view of terrorists’ immediate reaction to the Hamas attack and their preparations to join the invasion.
The call logs were released in the case against Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, who allegedly assembled a team of armed terrorists and crossed into Israel to join the attack, and later lied on his visa application to enter the US. He was arrested in Louisiana last year. (…)
As part of the federal probe into Al-Muhtadi, investigators released transcripts of phone calls he made while preparing to join the attack. The calls were intercepted, recorded and translated from Arabic into English. Prosecutors had previously released fragments of the conversations in court filings.
On the calls, Al-Muhtadi and his team are heard scrambling to join the Hamas attack by sharing information about the invasion, coordinating transportation and assembling weaponry.
At 8:12 a.m., Al-Muhtadi told an associate on a phone call to “get ready,” that the “borders are open,” and that other individuals were passing by in a Toyota pickup truck, apparently to join the invasion.
Thirty minutes later, still in Gaza, Al-Muhtadi and another individual celebrated and joked as they exchanged information about the attack.
Both hailed the invasion, saying, “Our guys are celebrating inside [Israel],” and that Palestinians were celebrating in Gaza.
The transcript indicated the pair repeatedly laughed during the call, including about the expected destruction of Gaza.
“From now till the afternoon, half of Gaza will be lost. There will be nothing left except my kiosk,” Al-Muhtadi said.
His associate said, “The Jews are still in shock.” Al-Muhtadi responded, “They are still drunk, because it’s the last day of their Eid,” using an Arabic term to apparently refer to Simhat Torah, the Jewish holiday on which the attack took place.
The pair already knew that Israelis had been taken hostage. Al-Muhtadi said, “There is kidnapping, and it’s a game, which will be a good one.” He said he expected a hostage deal to lead to a ceasefire.
“If things go the way they should, Syria will take part, Lebanon will take part, and it’s going to be a third world war,” he said. “This war will last two months, a month, or it will be a war of attrition.”
They also joked about Palestinians who worked in Israel, saying, “No other workers will enter Israel, and Gaza will be set back about fifty years.”
“The guys are calling, I swear by God. They want to go inside,” Al-Muhtadi said.
Other call logs showed the banality of the preparations, as the terrorists discussed getting coffee, lacking space in a car used to invade Israel, searching for a “welding machine,” and whether they should close their stores. One of the terrorists on a call said he would meet the others inside Israel without any weapons because he couldn’t find any.
By 9:33 a.m., Al-Muhtadi said on a call, “I went inside,” while laughing and telling two other terrorists, “Come in, boys.”
Al-Muhtadi told his associates to turn off their phones on that call. Investigators later found that his phone had linked to a tower in Israel, near Kfar Aza, at around 10 a.m., indicating he had crossed the border.
It’s been clear to those of us watching Gaza that the IDF/ISA are running a targeted campaign to track down 10/7 perpetrators.
I’ve identified 10/7 attackers and I know some are alive and well in Gaza. It’s possible some terrorists have fled abroad, like Mahmoud al-Muhtadi, who… pic.twitter.com/V7c9Y46Q18
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 16, 2026
IDF eliminates senior Hamas commanders in recent strikes
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) kept up its counter-terrorism operations in Gaza, targeting senior Hamas terror commanders.
On Monday, the military eliminated Nael Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’s southern Gaza-based Rafah Brigade. The Jerusalem Post described Obeid as “a key figure among Hamas leaders.”
The IDF, in a press release, said that “Abu Obeid was responsible for managing the activities of the brigade’s terrorists and directing them to advance and carry out terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.” He was working on the Rafah “brigade’s force buildup, which suffered severe damage throughout the war,” the IDF added.
The strike comes as the Israeli military took out several Gaza terrorists in recent strikes. “The IDF struck the commander of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade, after earlier this week the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade and other senior figures in the organization were eliminated,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged in his statement.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday killed Hamas commander Rafat Abu Zamar, who trained terrorists for the October 7 attack. “The terrorist advanced and led training for operatives in Hamas ahead of the October 7th Massacre, and more recently continued to train operatives and develop Hamas’ combat capabilities,” the military disclosed.
🔴 ELIMINATED: Nael Abu Obeid, Commander of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade and Head of Hamas’ Military Wing Operations Array.
Abu Obeid was a key figure among Hamas׳ senior leadership. He was responsible for managing the activities of the brigade’s terrorists and directing them to advance… https://t.co/n4o4IVWevS pic.twitter.com/DRvjc7vfYk
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 15, 2026
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