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Palestinian Islamic Jihad reportedly identified two Gazan boys, aged just 13 and 14, as members of its military wing in newly released martyr announcements, providing some of the clearest evidence yet of children below 15 being incorporated into the military structure of the U.S.-designated terror group.
The findings were published by Michael Starr, investigative media manager at HonestReporting, who has been tracking martyr notices released by Gaza terror groups and cross-referencing them against casualty databases, photographs and social-media records. Starr reported that subsequent findings have raised his overall tally of deceased Gazan child soldiers from 26 in late September to 31.
A 13-Year-Old in PIJ’s Northern Brigade
Thirteen-year-old Hossam Muhammad Morsi was identified by PIJ as an operative in the Northern Brigade’s Central Mobilization Unit, according to Starr. Starr said the identification was made using PIJ material, casualty records and facial comparison. A Gaza Health Ministry casualty list independently records a closely matching Hossam Mohammed Ouda Morsi as 13 years old.
Munir Mohammed Abdel Hai Morsi, who was 18, was also identified by PIJ as an Al-Quds Brigades operative, according to Starr. PIJ reportedly placed him in the Northern Brigade’s Martyr Hussam Abu Habl Battalion, while photographs on his Facebook account showed armed men with PIJ insignia. Another apparent relative, Abdullah Muhammad Morsi, was killed later and was also identified by PIJ as a member of the same Central Mobilization Unit as 13-year-old Hossam.
The apparent family pattern has surfaced in earlier cases. Starr previously found that 12 of 23 child soldiers identified at that stage had close relatives affiliated with the same terror group.
A 14-Year-Old in a Named PIJ Battalion
The second case involves Khalil Mahdi Ramadan Al-Bahtiti, whom PIJ reportedly identified as an operative in the Gaza Brigade’s Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj Battalion. Palestinian casualty records list Al-Bahtiti as 14 years old and say he was killed on October 26, 2023, alongside members of his extended family.
Starr also identified 16-year-old Malik Raafat Marzouq as another newly announced PIJ operative from the same Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj Battalion. A Palestinian casualty database independently records Marzouq as 16 and says he was killed in Gaza City on October 23, 2023. His reported PIJ affiliation comes from the new martyr material examined by Starr.
The Child Soldier Count Keeps Growing
The latest discoveries extend a pattern that has emerged as Palestinian terror groups publish martyr announcements months or years after individual deaths. On September 27, three minors aged 16 and 17 were identified through new PIJ notices, bringing Starr’s documented tally at that point to 26. He now says additional findings have increased that total to 31.
Earlier reporting had already identified children associated with PIJ rocket units, battalions, manufacturing formations and mobilization units. In July, nine minors were identified as PIJ operatives through martyr notices cross-referenced with casualty information. Hamas has also published material identifying minors within its military structure, while other documented cases have involved the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
Recruitment Below 15
Their ages carry particular significance under international law. The Rome Statute lists conscripting or enlisting children under 15 into armed forces or armed groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities, among war crimes. If Morsi and Al-Bahtiti were enlisted into PIJ formations while under 15, that conduct falls within the statute’s prohibition on recruiting children of that age.
The relevant child-protection standard is also broader than front-line combat. Under the Paris Principles, a child associated with an armed force or armed group is a person under 18 recruited or used by that force or group in any capacity, including as a fighter, messenger, porter or spy. A child therefore does not need to be documented firing a weapon in battle to fall within that child-protection definition.
The U.S. government had documented the underlying problem before the latest PIJ announcements surfaced. The State Department’s 2024 trafficking report said Palestinian children were vulnerable to recruitment or use as child soldiers and noted that Palestinian terror groups had operated camps involving firearms instruction and military training. It also reported allegations that the armed wings of Hamas and PIJ recruited and used children during 2023.
What PIJ’s Notices Add to Gaza Casualty Figures
The findings are also relevant to how Gaza casualty statistics are interpreted. Gaza Health Ministry lists record names, ages and other identifying information but do not distinguish between civilians and members of terror organizations. A person’s age establishes that he or she was a child, but it does not by itself determine whether that child had also been recruited by one of the groups fighting Israel.
That distinction does not make recruited minors any less children. International child-protection standards specifically recognize children recruited by armed organizations as victims of unlawful recruitment. The tragedy in these cases is that children who should never have been part of a military structure were reportedly incorporated into one by adults running a terrorist organization.