Hamas Raises Its Next Generation: Child Soldiers, Indoctrination Camps, and Martyr Glorification

Hamas did not inherit the children of Gaza — it shaped them. Since seizing full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has operated a systematic program of military indoctrination targeting children from early childhood. The program operates across multiple institutions: summer camps, television, schools, mosques, and public ceremonies.

The goal is explicit: to produce the next generation of fighters willing to die for the elimination of Israel. Hamas leadership has stated this openly.

This is not a cultural observation. It is documented policy, with documented mechanisms, documented outputs — and documented violations of international norms on children in armed conflict (non-state groups cannot sign the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; the State of Palestine acceded to it in 2014).

Hamas runs annual summer camps for children in Gaza — the 'Vanguards of Liberation' camps — that function as junior military training programs. Activities documented in these camps include:

• Weapons training: Children learn to fire rifles and operate light weapons
• Kidnapping simulations: Exercises in which children practice capturing mock Israeli soldiers
• Obstacle courses and military drills: Physical training modeled on adult military preparation
• Martyr glorification: Ceremonies honoring 'martyrs' (suicide bombers and fighters killed in combat), with children participating in tribute ceremonies
• Religious-military instruction: Sessions combining Quranic memorization with military doctrine

These camps have been documented by MEMRI, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, and independent journalists. Tens of thousands of children have participated annually.

Hamas operates Al-Aqsa TV, a satellite channel that broadcasts across the Arab world. Its children's programming has been documented by MEMRI with translated transcripts.

Farfour ("Farfur"): A Mickey Mouse-like character that appeared on the children's show Tomorrow's Pioneers beginning in 2007. Farfour told children to:

• Kill Jews
• Fight for Al-Aqsa mosque
• Become martyrs
• Resist the "criminal" Israelis

Farfour was written out of the show by being "killed by an Israeli" — modeling martyrdom for the child audience. He was replaced by a bee character, then a bear character, with similar themes.

Documented quotes from the show (MEMRI translations):

• A child character tells Farfour: "We will fight them with stones and guns and will cleanse our land from their filth."
• The show's host tells children to "follow the path" of Mohammed al-Dura and other child martyrs.

The show was pulled from air in 2007 after international condemnation — and replaced with programming with similar themes under different characters.

The Palestinian Authority controls the official school curriculum in Gaza (even under Hamas governance, UNRWA runs many schools using PA-approved materials). Analyses of the curriculum by IMPACT-se and others have documented the following; the EU-commissioned Georg Eckert Institute study (2021) found antisemitic narratives and glorification of violence in some materials but reported a more mixed overall picture:

• Maps: School textbooks show maps of Israel labeled entirely as 'Palestine,' with no acknowledgment of Israel's existence
• Martyrdom glorification: Suicide bombers are presented as heroes; students are asked to write essays about becoming martyrs
• Mathematical word problems: Problems involving casualties in attacks on Israel
• Jewish dehumanization: Historical and contemporary Jewish people described using derogatory terms; Holocaust denial or minimization in some materials

UNRWA, which before October 2023 educated almost 300,000 children in Gaza, has been documented using PA curriculum materials and, in multiple cases, employing teachers who posted antisemitic content on social media or expressed support for terrorism.

The October 7 attack was carried out primarily by adults. However, Israeli and international analysts documented that some participants were teenagers — consistent with Hamas's documented recruitment of minors into its military wing.

The UN Secretary-General's 2024 report on Children and Armed Conflict (covering 2023) for the first time listed Hamas's and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's armed wings — and Israel's armed and security forces — among parties responsible for grave violations against children (news report); cite the annex of report A/78/842–S/2024/384 for the specific violations each was listed for.

The UN listing triggers specific requirements under Security Council Resolution 1612 (2005): parties that recruit children must submit action plans to stop the practice and face potential targeted measures. Hamas has not submitted an action plan. It has continued the practice.