Palestinian father reveals how Hamas manipulates Gazan teens to join terror ranks

Hamas offered to give Mustafa’s son 1,500 shekels if he agreed to work for them, either in the police force or by engaging in Hamas activities.

As Israel and the United States continue to emphasize the need for Hamas to disarm, the terrorist group is reasserting its control in parts of the Gaza Strip by recruiting new members to its military wing and civilian institutions.

A Palestinian father, called Mustafa for security reasons, said Hamas offered cash to teenagers to entice them to join the group. Talk to The Jerusalem Posthe described how Hamas attempted to recruit his 16-year-old son in central Gaza.

“One day, three men approached my son. They weren’t wearing Hamas uniforms, just ordinary clothes, and they gave him 200 shekels,” Mustafa said. “They told him, ‘Take this, buy yourself something.'”

The Palestinian teenager was confused and asked them why they had given him the money. “We help people,” they replied.

They also offered to give him an additional 1,500 shekels if he agreed to work for them, either in the police force or by engaging in Hamas activities.

“He didn’t know what to do and he was scared,” Mustafa said. the post office. “He went home and told his older brother what had happened. His brother got upset and immediately knew something was wrong. So he told him, ‘If they come back, don’t take anything or talk to them. Just tell them we’re getting through this and our dad has our backs.'”

Mustafa, a Fatah supporter, currently lives near Ramallah. He served as part of the PA security forces in Gaza until 2007, when Hamas overthrew the PA and took control of the strip. After the Hamas coup, he and hundreds of security agents fled to the West Bank, leaving their families behind.

“Hamas takes advantage of poverty and families who lack food and other basic necessities,” the father explained.

“Hamas told my son that they would train him and his 18-year-old brother in weapons skills and that they would give them whatever they wanted.”

It didn’t stop there. Later, Hamas members came to the family home in Gaza and offered flour and food to Mustafa’s wife. “My wife told them: ‘We don’t need anything, my husband sends us money.'”

When the boy’s uncle heard the story, he went to the home of one of the Hamas members and warned him not to approach the family again. They argued, but since then no one from Hamas has attempted to contact the brothers.

“Hamas brainwashes people, especially teenagers in Gaza,” Mustafa said, adding that the terror group first lures them with economic incentives but then blackmails them, making it almost impossible for them to leave once involved.

Hamas promises security and threatens those who try to leave

“Hamas is finding ways to attract them,” he noted. “They promise them things like a tent to live in, and if someone tries to leave or doesn’t want to be involved anymore, they start threatening them, ‘give back everything we gave you: the money, the food.'”

Mustafa explained that most young men cannot repay and therefore have no choice but to stay in Hamas, even if they do not want to. “Hamas keeps telling them: ‘The Jews have taken our land, you will be heroes if you fight them.'”

“Hamas doesn’t really care about the lives of these teenagers. I explained to my children that there was a political struggle between us and the Jews, but that the resistance had to be peaceful. Why should I send my son to die? I raised my children to live, marry and build their future – not to die,” he said.

He described another method used by Hamas to recruit Palestinian residents. The group arrests teenagers for drug possession or theft, then blackmails them and forces them to work for the organization.

“Another member of our family, aged 17, was arrested by Hamas,” Mustafa said. “They told him: ‘Either you work for us or we’ll shoot you in the legs.'”

The young man agreed to join the group after his release. “In his case, it is true that he stole something. He is more of a street boy. So Hamas also targets vulnerable boys who can be easily influenced, not just the poorest ones,” Mustafa added.

According to a 27-year-old Gazan from the Shuja’iya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, now displaced with his family in Deir-al Balah, Hamas generally recruits individuals called “mosque children” – young people whose origins are known to the group, not outsiders. He also said that many join Hamas willingly and not by force.

“They do it because they love Hamas and hate Israel, and because they want to participate in Jihad,” he told the Job. “They see what Israel has done in Gaza: the killings, the destruction, but also what is happening in the West Bank. That’s why they join the resistance, especially if a member of their family has been killed or if their house has been destroyed.” He added that, like many other Palestinians, he too wants to leave Gaza and is waiting for the Rafah crossing to open so he can look for work elsewhere.

Mustafa stressed, however, that Hamas’s attempts were not limited to mosques. “Many mosques were destroyed during the war, which is why Hamas is looking for new recruits on the streets.”

Palestinian sources stressed that Hamas remains particularly strong in central Gaza, where it exerts a strong hold over the population. They said the group operates more freely there than in other areas of the coastal enclave and continues to use civilian infrastructure to reorganize and rebuild.

“If Israel does not want to see another October 7, it must destroy Hamas in central Gaza. If it remains powerful in this region, it will be difficult for any other group to replace it and take control,” Mustafa said.