Europol: Conflict in Gaza, Russia’s war on Ukraine fuelling extremism
The conflict in Gaza continued to have a major impact on the terrorist threat in the EU and there were numerous attacks and calls to violence across the entire ideological spectrum, according to Europol’s European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2025 (TE-SAT), published on June 24.
This flagship report – the only one of its kind in Europe – describes the major developments and trends in the terrorism landscape in the EU in 2024, based on qualitative and quantitative information provided by EU member states and other Europol partners.
Online terrorist and violent extremist propaganda instrumentalised the conflict and ignited hatred, with antisemitism being a common denominator in both.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine was another driving factor for the spread of violent extremist narratives, radicalisation and mobilisation.
In Syria, the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December 2024 and the formation of a government led by the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) marked a significant shift with potential greater regional geopolitical implications in the medium and long term, the report said.
Concerns are growing around the new leadership’s ability to fight terrorism, reports of radicalised violent extremists expressing their willingness to travel to the region, as well as the uncertain future for thousands of captives held in the prisons and camps now controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“These factors are collectively a growing cause for concern about future threats to the EU security,” Europol said.
The use of generative AI to create and disseminate propaganda and hate speech has reached unprecedented levels, especially in the right-wing scene, the report said.
End-to-end encrypted communication platforms also continued to provide secure channels for communication, coordination, recruitment, dissemination of propaganda and incitement to mobilisation and violence.
Almost one out of three suspects arrested for terrorism-related offences in 2024 was a minor or a young adult. The youngest offender was 12 years old, arrested for planning to commit an attack.
Some recent cases of murder and attacks have been linked to online cult communities leveraging digital platforms to share and normalise extreme cruelty, extort victims and radicalise young individuals into performing acts of violence, the Europol report said.
“The members of these groups specifically target vulnerable minors, on average aged between eight and 17,” Europol said.
“Many of these violent groups have ideological connections with jihadist terrorism and violent right-wing extremism, occultism and satanism.”
A total of 58 terrorist attacks were reported by 14 EU member states in 2024, according to the report.
Of these, 34 were completed, five were failed and 19 were foiled. Overall, 449 individuals were arrested for terrorism-related offences across 20 EU member states.
