IDF and Shin Bet foil dozens of Hamas terror attacks directed from Turkey

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Defense Forces have foiled several dozen terror attacks directed by Hamas operatives working out of Turkey over the past year, the two agencies announced on Sunday. 

The Hamas network operated in Turkey to recruit operatives and transfer funds and weapons for attacks in Israel, including in Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

Shin Bet released the names of five Hamas operatives in its Judea and Samaria headquarters, responsible for planning and conducting terror attacks against Israeli targets there. 

⭕️ IDF & ISA EXPOSE: Key operatives in Hamas’ terrorist network who directed dozens of terror attacks in Turkey over the past year.

Hamas operatives in the Judea and Samaria division have been directing and advancing extensive military activity in Judea and Samaria and in… pic.twitter.com/trNZNe29Gk

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 21, 2026

“Over the years, and with increased intensity over the past year, operatives in the West Bank Headquarters have been directing and advancing extensive military activity into Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and Israel from Turkish soil, including recruiting operatives to carry out attacks and transferring weapons and funds into the area to advance military activity,” the agency said in a statement. 

“The Shin Bet (ISA) and the IDF view with great severity any connection to terrorist elements, instructions from Hamas’s West Bank apparatus, and involvement in the transfer of funds and weapons intended for terrorist infrastructures in the Judea and Samaria area, and will continue to act with determination to thwart threats and ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel.” 

The Hamas network is headed by Zaher Jabarin, who serves as head of the West Bank unit, alongside Ayman Abu Khalil, the head of Hamas’ military wing in that region.

The Shin Bet named five additional Hamas operatives based in Turkey who are also active in the Judea and Samaria division.

They include Muhammad Mallah, a Hamas operative from Tulkarm who divides his time between Turkey and Qatar and is involved in transferring funds; Majed Ja’ba, who assisted in smuggling weapons used in the November 2023 attack at the Jerusalem tunnel checkpoint; Walid Abu Nassar, who financed a terror network in Bethlehem; and Ayman Sharawna and Salam Yaish, who are accused of recruiting operatives to carry out attacks.

The announcement follows previous Shin Bet disclosures of additional Hamas networks operating out of Turkey.

The investigation found that Hamas operatives were able to operate without interference from the Turkish government, reportedly leveraging Turkey’s sympathy for the Palestinian cause to hold meetings with operatives from Judea and Samaria and to transmit instructions and funds used by terror cells in the territory.

Oded Ailam, former head of the Mossad's counterterrorism division and a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs, warns that Turkey is becoming the main base for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East. 

"They [Hamas] cannot possibly feel home and immune there,” he said, while emphasizing that Ankara is openly positioning itself as leading a regional Islamist movement to confront Israel.