Hamas, Islamic Jihad accused of using child soldiers in war against Israel

Israel’s army recently found damning documents, video footage and photographs of Palestinian children used by two U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as trained fighters.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) told Fox News Digital that the material seized in Gaza's Khan Younes during the ongoing war is recent and reveals "the involvement of minors in terrorist activities." 

The IDF added that a telling example of Hamas’ exploitation of Palestinian kids was, "The transfer of explosives from place to place in Gaza by children, in vegetable bags and placing them in the Hamas ambushes."

Fox News Digital obtained video from the IDF that reveals for the first time a Hamas operative escorting children into a terrorist tunnel during a summer camp exercise.

Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7 and massacred 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, and kidnapped over 240 people.

The IDF told Fox New Digital that "Over 170 minors are active in the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip…children are taught by Hamas from a young age to hate Israel and Jews and already in schools, youth movements and summer camps, children undergo theoretical and practical military training."

The number of 170 children is the current number of active minors compelled to aid Hamas terrorists, it was claimed.

According to the IDF, "During the fighting in the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers found documents and photographs that reveal pictures of armed children, certificates of appreciation for the young terrorist operatives and active veterans associating them with the Hamas organization and Islamic Jihad. Today, over 170 minors are identified as terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip."

The IDF told Fox New Digital that "Over 170 minors are active in the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip…children are taught by Hamas from a young age to hate Israel and Jews and already in schools, youth movements and summer camps, children undergo theoretical and practical military training."

The number of 170 children is the current number of active minors compelled to aid Hamas terrorists, it was claimed.

According to the IDF, "During the fighting in the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers found documents and photographs that reveal pictures of armed children, certificates of appreciation for the young terrorist operatives and active veterans associating them with the Hamas organization and Islamic Jihad. Today, over 170 minors are identified as terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip."

The previously non-reported IDF photographs of Palestinian children in combat gear reviewed by Fox News Digital show children under the age of 15. According to the U.N.’s website for Children and Armed Conflict, "Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian law – treaty and custom – and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court."

The IDF said "Hamas sends children for the purposes of delivering messages and ammunition. Also, children are sent to the battlefields after an attack in order to assess the damage and report it to the terrorists who are hiding in shelters."

Israel’s army previously disclosed the investigation of a Hamas company commander in the "Zeytoun" battalion, who said children are used as part of the organization’s fighting doctrine to deliver ammunition "with the understanding that the IDF will not harm them."