(TLP:CLEAR) CTC Sentinel – October 2025: Hamas’s External Attack Capabilities and Lessons Learned from the 2015 Islamic State Paris Attack
Created: Thursday, October 16, 2025 - 14:38
Categories: Physical Security, Research, Security Preparedness
Summary: The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point published its “Sentinel” magazine for October 2025. This latest issue analyzes the current state of the terrorist group Hamas and its ability to conduct external attacks in Europe. Another article examines the lessons learned from the 2015 Islamic State attack in Paris.
Analyst Note: The issue’s cover article assesses the potential for Hamas to conduct terrorist attacks in Europe, and potentially in other locales. The author outlines several recent criminal cases in Germany and Denmark that “reveal that Hamas set in motion contingency planning for possible attacks in Europe several years before the October 7 massacre, including stashing small arms in weapons caches in multiple European countries.” “Today,” the author writes, “European and Israeli officials fear that Hamas has taken the decision to go global and carry out plots abroad, marking a significant departure from the group’s prior modus operandi.” Indeed, as pressure against the terrorist group increases following the recent ceasefire agreement, Hamas could retaliate through terrorist attacks in Western states.
A related article explores how Hamas has operated, fought, and governed—from its origins to the present. The author assesses Hamas’s degraded yet durable capabilities, internal factional dynamics, and implications for Gaza’s “day after.” Another examines the enduring threat of complex coordinated terrorist attacks (CCTA) through the lens of the 2015 Islamic State Paris terrorist attacks. The author writes that “the terrorist attacks in Paris illustrated the risks and challenges posed by complex coordinated terrorist attacks (CCTA) in a Western capital.” This particular modus operandi, he warns, “requires a strong anticipation effort by law enforcement agencies in order to prepare for a potential return of CCTA in the West.”
Original Source: https://ctc.westpoint.edu/ctc-sentinel/
Additional Reading:
- The Islamic State in 2025: an Evolving Threat Facing a Waning Global Response
- Could Hamas Become a Global Threat?
Related WaterISAC PIRs: 1, 2, & 4