The youth division of Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which faces allegations of training children in combat and the use of weapons, has been fostering stronger ties with Islamist and neo-nationalist youth groups in Turkey, facilitated by the pro-Hamas government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilian and military targets in October, its operatives have been actively meeting with various Turkish groups that engage with Turkish youth, aiming to convert a significant number of young people in Turkey to Hamas’s ideology and to tap into additional resources to support Hamas’s regional operations.

The man tasked by Hamas to accomplish this is Ashraf Awad, described as the deputy head of Hamas’s youth office. He has been holding a series of meetings with leaders of Turkish militant and Islamist organizations to enlist as much support as possible and to promote Hamas’s youth projects.