Hamas plans to set up secret base in Turkey, secret documents reveal - report

Hamas has been planning to establish a secret base in Turkey as well as other terror cells elsewhere in order to coordinate attacks against Israeli targets in neighboring countries, including members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) according to a document captured by the IDF in Gaza, The Times revealed in an exclusive report.

The secret document, titled “Founding a base in Turkey,'' was discovered in the the home of chief of staff to Yahya Sinwar, Hamza Abu Shanab’s, The Times reported, citing the IDF. The document says Israel’s efforts to clamp down on the Gaza Strip over the past decade has "put Hamas on the defensive."

According to the plan, this is the reason for establishing bases in different locations, for the purpose of strengthening "the forces of resistance militarily, diplomatically and morally.” The bases were planned to be hubs for special operations “capable of carrying out intelligence and military operations in the future.”

The document outlines a three-year plan, and also mentions plans for assassinations. Targets for assassination are “officers and commanders in Mossad,” and “influential Israelis.” It also mentions “sabotage of Israeli naval vessels” and “kidnapping,” according to The Times report. 

The plan includes details on who will be stationed at the base in Turkey and how it will be funded. It is unclear whether the plan had begun being executed before Hamas launched its attack on October 7. 

The Turkish government has expressed support for Hamas, calling it a “liberation group,” and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has reached a level that would make Hitler jealous with his genocidal methods.”

Erdogan's support for Hamas

On Sunday, Erdogan announced that hospitals in Turkey are treating over 1,000 members of Hamas.

The Turkish leader said that he was saddened by Greece’s stance that Hamas is a terrorist organization at a press conference after talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Ankara.

“Let’s agree to disagree,” Mitsotakis said, before concluding that the two leaders could agree that violence must end and a long-term ceasefire is necessary.

Last month, Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, met with Erdogan in Istanbul. Erdogan still insists that Hamas has not been carrying out terrorist operations from or within Turkey despite these meetings and allowing the Palestinian group to maintain offices in Istanbul.

As a NATO member country, intelligence sources believe that Erdogan is strongly against Turkey becoming a base for Hamas’s terrorist activities, despite his public shows of support for its political leaders, according to The Times.

In 2020, after The Times revealed that Turkey had become a base for Hamas’s cyber warfare operations, the Turkish authorities warned the organization to stop its activities. Zaher Jabarin, who handles Hamas funding outside Gaza, is based in Istanbul.

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkey’s intelligence chief, met Hamas leaders in Qatar on Sunday to discuss ceasefire talks and delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Erdogan told Muslim scholars in Istanbul that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire proposal by Qatar and Egypt, and accused Netanyahu’s government of not wanting the war to end.

The president on Sunday called on countries to recognize a Palestinian sovereign state and accused Western countries “who lecture us on human rights and freedoms at every opportunity” of hypocrisy.

He issued orders this month to end all trade between Turkey and Israel. Israeli trade officials, however, reported that this was an empty order and that trade continues between the two countries.