Yet their case relies almost entirely on intelligence from Israel which the defendant's lawyers are unable to see, and an Israeli agent they can not identify.

That agent may be Lt. Col. Avi Kalo, who previously testified anonymously in the hyper-politicized, constitutionally questionable Holy Land Foundation trial.

The US Department of Justice has accused a 33-year-old Louisiana resident named Mahmoud Amin Ya'qub al-Muhtadi of joining Hamas' attack on Israel on the morning of October 7. They say Muhtadi was a member of the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small resistance organization in Gaza, and that Muhtadi mobilized others to join the fight on October 7, when Hamas and other groups mounted their attack. 

Prosecutors allege that he returned to Gaza after the attack, then applied for a US visa in June of 2024, met a consular official at the US embassy in Cairo in August of that year and immigrated to the US the next month, having lied about his connections with the DFLP on his visa application. 

Muhtadi was arrested in October 2025. He was originally charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and visa fraud. He has pled not guilty, and his family has condemned the government's charges as "fabricated" and "false."

As of June 17, prosecutors were already modifying some of their allegations. A superseding indictment filed by prosecutors that day removed the phrase "resulting in death" from the original conspiracy charge, according to The Advocate. It also added a second charge of conspiracy to provide support to a terrorist organization and a charge of making a false statement within the jurisdiction of the US (the last referring to statements on his visa application).

The bulk of the US government's evidence comes from Israel. According to court documents, it was Israel that tipped American authorities off to Muhtadi and his alleged participation in the October 7 attacks. An Israeli cell phone provider says it captured Muhtadi's cell phone pinging a tower near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was attacked on October 7; Israel appears to have provided the US with phone calls they say Muhtadi made that day.

To certify the "authenticity" of the Israeli exhibits supposedly incriminating Muhtadi, the US DOJ has summoned an Israeli agent to testify. However, his identity is classified under Israeli law, making it nearly impossible for the defense to challenge his credibility during cross-examination.

According to court filings noted by journalist Ken Silva, that Israeli agent has been identified only as "Avi," and is described as a "longtime employee of the Israeli security agency" who currently directs the Assessment Division of the Israeli Bureau of Counter-Terror Financing.