Police in Frankfurt, Germany
Police in Frankfurt, GermanyiStock

German police have raided the offices of several non-governmental organizations, alleging that they provided financial and propaganda support to the Hamas terrorist organization, The National reported on Thursday.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Germany will not allow charities to provide support to the Gaza-based group.

"Whoever supports Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid disregards fundamental values of our constitution and discredits the commitment of many aid organizations," he was quoted as having said.

The main targets of the raids, WorldWide Resistance-Help and Ansaar International, are believed to have collected funds for Hamas, which is blacklisted by the EU as a terrorist organization.

The Dusseldorf-based Ansaar International, which has been active since 2012, describes itself on its website as an aid organization carrying out projects "for the good of Allah." By its own count, it has 600 members in Germany and around 2,000 around the globe, according to The National.

It states it provides health services, water and sanitation, orphanages and education in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Americas. In Gaza, it provides emergency food aid, water, electricity and schooling.

WWR Help claims to provide humanitarian services in Gaza and collect donations for Ramadan.

The German police believes these claims to be a cover-up for illicit funding of what the US, Israel and the EU consider a terrorist organization. At least 90 properties across Germany were searched by the police as part of the crackdown, according to the report.

A European Union last month upheld a freeze on Hamas funds as it rejected the Gaza-based terror group's appeal against its EU listing as a terrorist organization.

In July of 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) overturned an earlier ruling by the General Court that Hamas should be dropped from the terror list because the EU had made the decision based on information from the media and internet.