Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Encyclopedia
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ' onMouseout='HidePop("13976")' href="/topics/Izz_ad-Din_al-Qassam">Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
, often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades) is the military wing of the Palestinian
Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas
. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash
, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of Hamas, which was at the time concerned with blocking the Oslo Accords
negotiations. From 1994 to 2000, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades carried out a number of attacks against both Israeli soldiers and civilians.
At the beginning of the Second Intifada, the group became a central target of Israel. The group's strength and its ability to carry out complex and lethal attacks surprised many observers. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades operated several cells in the West Bank
, but most of them were destroyed by 2004 following numerous Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations
in the region. In contrast, Hamas retained a forceful presence in the Gaza Strip
, generally considered its stronghold.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
and Adnan al-Ghoul
. The current leader of the brigades, Mohammed Deif
, remains at large and is said to have survived at least five assassination attempts.
, an Arab militant in the British Mandate of Palestine. In 1930 al-Qassam organized and established the Black Hand, an anti-Zionist and anti-British militant organisation.
to assist HAMAS
efforts in blocking them. In 2003 and 2004, the brigades in Gaza resisted IDF incursions, including the siege
of Jabalya in October 2004. However, these battles took a heavy toll in the brigade's ranks, which suffered heavy losses. The group, however, continued to gain strength and remained capable of carrying out attacks in the following years. The brigades can count on a huge pool of recruits, an important logistical organization which supplies the militants with weapons smuggled in Rafah
using tunnels, and talented engineers who provide the fighters with homemade weapons such as the al-Bana
, the Batar
, the Yasin
and the Qassam rocket
.
In early 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades appeared to stand by a truce negotiated between the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel. However the brigades took advantage of the truce to regroup, while some militants continued to launch periodic mortar and Qassam rocket
barrages toward Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip
.
Following Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
in August 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades staged several rallies in which they displayed thousands of fighters and an assortment of weaponry in Gaza. These celebrations ended abruptly when, on September 23, twenty Palestinians were killed as a car carrying Qassam rockets exploded among a dense crowd. Since this incident, the brigades refrained from staging public displays of force as well as launching attacks at Israel, which, in turn, refrained from targeting Hamas members in assassinations and raids. Despite occasional and brief flare-ups of violence, the brigades generally respected this truce until the beginning of June 2006. The Palestinian Authority has been, during this period, under intense pressure from Israel and the international community
to disarm Hamas, but fears of heavy resistance from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and a possible civil war
, coupled with a victory of the movement in the 2006 legislative elections, prevented any such attempts. As a result, it is widely believed that the brigades stockpiled thousands of homemade weapons and projectiles during 2005 and 2006 and were actively attempting to rebuild their destroyed cells in the West Bank.
In May 2006, a police force was formed in Gaza, consisting of thousands of brigade fighters. It aimed to restore law and order in the city but instead broke out into clashes with Fatah
militias. On June 10, 2006, after the Gaza beach blast
in which seven civilians died, the brigades announced a cessation of the truce with Israel. In the following hours, they claimed responsibility for launching Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot
, and threatened to step up their attacks.
In June and July 2006, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades were involved in the operation which led to the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
, and in the subsequent heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip following Operation Summer Rains, launched by the IDF. It was the first time in over 18 months that the brigades were actively involved in fighting against Israeli soldiers. As of May 2007, the brigades acknowledged they lost 163 fighters during the operation.
The brigades have a substantial weapons inventory of light automatic weapons and grenade
s, improvised rockets, mortars, bomb
s, suicide belts and explosives. The Brigades fire Qassam rockets and mortar shells into Israel on a regular basis. The group engages in military style training, including training which take place in Iran
and Syria
on a range of weapons designed to inflict significant casualties on civilian and military targets.
Israel evaluates at 10,000 the number of fighters now in the brigades, and claim they receive extensive training as well as more sophisticated weapons, including long-range rockets (180mm, 127mm, 122mm , 107mm) as well as guided anti-tank such as Kornet, RPG-29
, RPG-7
with PG-7VR
tandem-warhead rockets, AT-5 , anti-aircraft gun such as dozens of DShK
, KPV heavy machine gun
, and anti-aircraft missiles such as SA-16, SA-24, and Stinger
.
According to a statement by CIA director George Tenet
in 2000, Hamas has pursued a capability to conduct attacks with toxic chemicals
. There have been reports of Hamas operatives planning and preparing attacks incorporating chemicals. In one case, nails and bolts packed into explosives detonated by a Hamas suicide bomber in a December 2001 attack at the Ben-Yehuda street in Jerusalem were soaked in rat poison
. In another case, Hamas operative Abbas al-Sayyid received a large quantity of cyanide
which he intended to insert into the explosive belt
s worn by suicide bombers.
. According to the bulletin, the current leaders of the brigades are:
On July 12, 2006, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed a house in the Sheikh Radwan
neighborhood of Gaza City, where Mohammed Deif, Ahmad al-Ghandur and Raid Said were meeting. The three-story house was completely leveled, killing Hamas official Nabil al-Salmiah, his wife and their five children, but the 3 leaders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades all escaped with moderate wounds.
On July 12, 2006 In the early morning hours Israeli aircraft blasted a house where high-level Hamas leaders were meeting. Deif survived the blast, but severely injured his spine, which could leave him paralyzed . According to some unnamed Palestinian sources, Deif's condition is very serious, with him becoming a quadruple amputee as a result.
On 6 September 2006, Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd reported that Deif was captured by Egyptian authorities while attempting to enter Egypt to get health care for injuries caused by the Israeli attack in July.
On 1 January 2009, Nizar Rayan
, a top Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing, was killed in an Israeli Air Force
strike during Operation Cast Lead. The day before the attack, Rayan had advocated renewal of suicide attacks on Israel, declaring, "Our only language with the Jew is through the gun". A 2,000-pound bomb was dropped on his house, also killing his 4 wives (Hiam 'Abdul Rahman Rayan, 46; Iman Khalil Rayan, 46; Nawal Isma'il Rayan, 40; and Sherine Sa'id Rayan, 25) and 11 of their children (As'ad, 2; Usama Ibn Zaid, 3; 'Aisha, 3; Reem, 4; Miriam, 5; Halima, 5; 'Abdul Rahman, 6; Abdul Qader, 12; Aaya, 12; Zainab, 15; and Ghassan, 16).
On January 3, 2009 Israeli aircraft attacked the car in which Abu Zakaria al-Jamal
, a leader of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam armed wing, was traveling. He subsequently died of the wounds suffered in the bombing.
On January 4, 2009 the Israeli Air Force
struck and killed in Khan Yunis
two senior Izz ad-Din al-Qassam leaders, Hussam Hamdan and Muhammad Hilo, both of whom the Israelis blamed for attacks against Israel. According to Israeli authorities Hussam Hamdan was in charge of rocket attacks against Beersheba
and Ofakim, while Muhammad Hilo was reportedly behind Hamas' special forces in Khan Yunis.
On January 15, 2009, the Israeli Air Force
bombed a house in Jabaliya, killing a prominent Qassam Brigades commander named Mohammed Watfa (the strike targeted the Palestinian Interior Minister Said Seyam
, who was also killed).
On July 30, 2010, one of the leaders Issa Abdul-Hadi Al-Batran, aged 40, was killed at Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike.
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Sheikh Muhammad Izz ad-Din al-Qassam was a Tijani Sufi who led militant activities against British, French, and Zionist organizations in the Levant in the 1920's and 1930's.-Early life:...
, often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades) is the military wing of the Palestinian
Palestinian nationalism
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people. It has roots in Pan-Arabism and other movements rejecting colonialism and calling for national independence. More recently, Palestinian Nationalism is expressed through the Israeli–Palestinian conflict...
Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bombmaker of Hamas and the leader of the West Bank battalion of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of Hamas, which was at the time concerned with blocking the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
negotiations. From 1994 to 2000, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades carried out a number of attacks against both Israeli soldiers and civilians.
At the beginning of the Second Intifada, the group became a central target of Israel. The group's strength and its ability to carry out complex and lethal attacks surprised many observers. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades operated several cells in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, but most of them were destroyed by 2004 following numerous Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations
Operation Defensive Shield
Operation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
in the region. In contrast, Hamas retained a forceful presence in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, generally considered its stronghold.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Organization and structure
The fighters' identities and positions in the group often remain secret until their death; even when they fight against Israeli incursions, all the militants wear a characteristic black hood on which the group's green headband is attached. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades operate on a model of independent cells and even high-ranking members are often unaware of the activities of other cells. This allows the group to consistently regenerate after member deaths. During the al-Aqsa intifada, the leaders of the group were targeted by numerous airstrikes that killed many members, including Salah ShahadeSalah Shahade
Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade , was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas...
and Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan Al-Ghoul was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He was eliminated in a targeted killing along with Imad Abbas when an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fired missiles at their car in Gaza on October 21, 2004...
. The current leader of the brigades, Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif Born in 1960, is a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He gained that position after Israel killed Salah Shehade in July, 2002. Israel suspects him of being a bombmaker and holds him personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians...
, remains at large and is said to have survived at least five assassination attempts.
Name
The group is named after Izz ad-Din al-QassamIzz ad-Din al-Qassam
Sheikh Muhammad Izz ad-Din al-Qassam was a Tijani Sufi who led militant activities against British, French, and Zionist organizations in the Levant in the 1920's and 1930's.-Early life:...
, an Arab militant in the British Mandate of Palestine. In 1930 al-Qassam organized and established the Black Hand, an anti-Zionist and anti-British militant organisation.
Operations and activities
The transition into a recognized militant organization began during the establishment of the Oslo AccordsOslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
to assist HAMAS
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
efforts in blocking them. In 2003 and 2004, the brigades in Gaza resisted IDF incursions, including the siege
Operation Days of Penitence
Operation Days of Penitence was the name used by Israel to describe an Israel Defense Forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip, conducted between September 30, 2004 and October 16, 2004...
of Jabalya in October 2004. However, these battles took a heavy toll in the brigade's ranks, which suffered heavy losses. The group, however, continued to gain strength and remained capable of carrying out attacks in the following years. The brigades can count on a huge pool of recruits, an important logistical organization which supplies the militants with weapons smuggled in Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
using tunnels, and talented engineers who provide the fighters with homemade weapons such as the al-Bana
Al-Bana
The al-Bana rocket launcher is a weapon developed by Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul and Mohammed Deif. Made from raw material and equipment smuggled into the Gaza Strip using tunnels in Rafah, the al-Bana was the first example, during the Al-Aqsa...
, the Batar
Batar
The Batar rocket launcher is a weapon developed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Al-Aqsa intifada. The weapon was reportedly created and produced in clandestine workshops in the Gaza strip under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul...
, the Yasin
Yasin
The Yasin anti-tank rocket launcher is a weapon developed by Hamas' Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades named after the group's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yasin, who was assassinated by the Israeli Defense Forces on March 22, 2004...
and the Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
.
In early 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades appeared to stand by a truce negotiated between the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel. However the brigades took advantage of the truce to regroup, while some militants continued to launch periodic mortar and Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
barrages toward Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
.
Following Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
in August 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades staged several rallies in which they displayed thousands of fighters and an assortment of weaponry in Gaza. These celebrations ended abruptly when, on September 23, twenty Palestinians were killed as a car carrying Qassam rockets exploded among a dense crowd. Since this incident, the brigades refrained from staging public displays of force as well as launching attacks at Israel, which, in turn, refrained from targeting Hamas members in assassinations and raids. Despite occasional and brief flare-ups of violence, the brigades generally respected this truce until the beginning of June 2006. The Palestinian Authority has been, during this period, under intense pressure from Israel and the international community
Quartet on the Middle East
The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United Nations, the...
to disarm Hamas, but fears of heavy resistance from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and a possible civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, coupled with a victory of the movement in the 2006 legislative elections, prevented any such attempts. As a result, it is widely believed that the brigades stockpiled thousands of homemade weapons and projectiles during 2005 and 2006 and were actively attempting to rebuild their destroyed cells in the West Bank.
In May 2006, a police force was formed in Gaza, consisting of thousands of brigade fighters. It aimed to restore law and order in the city but instead broke out into clashes with Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
militias. On June 10, 2006, after the Gaza beach blast
Gaza beach blast
The Gaza beach blast was an incident on June 9, 2006 in which eight Palestinians were killed and at least thirty others injured in an explosion on a beach near the municipality of Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip...
in which seven civilians died, the brigades announced a cessation of the truce with Israel. In the following hours, they claimed responsibility for launching Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot
Sderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
, and threatened to step up their attacks.
In June and July 2006, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades were involved in the operation which led to the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit is an Israeli – French citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier. On 25 June 2006, he was captured inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the border with Gaza. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until he was released on...
, and in the subsequent heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip following Operation Summer Rains, launched by the IDF. It was the first time in over 18 months that the brigades were actively involved in fighting against Israeli soldiers. As of May 2007, the brigades acknowledged they lost 163 fighters during the operation.
Armed strength
Since its establishment in December 1987, the military capability of the brigades has increased markedly, from rifles to Qassam rockets and more.The brigades have a substantial weapons inventory of light automatic weapons and grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, improvised rockets, mortars, bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s, suicide belts and explosives. The Brigades fire Qassam rockets and mortar shells into Israel on a regular basis. The group engages in military style training, including training which take place in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
on a range of weapons designed to inflict significant casualties on civilian and military targets.
Israel evaluates at 10,000 the number of fighters now in the brigades, and claim they receive extensive training as well as more sophisticated weapons, including long-range rockets (180mm, 127mm, 122mm , 107mm) as well as guided anti-tank such as Kornet, RPG-29
RPG-29
The RPG-29 is a Russian rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the most recent weapon of its type to be adopted by the Russian military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The RPG-29 has since been supplemented by other rocket-propelled systems, such...
, RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
with PG-7VR
PG-7VR
The PG-7VR is a tandem charge RPG warhead designed to penetrate up to 600 mm rolled homogeneous armour equivalence of explosive reactive armor and the conventional armor underneath...
tandem-warhead rockets, AT-5 , anti-aircraft gun such as dozens of DShK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
, KPV heavy machine gun
KPV heavy machine gun
The KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun is a Soviet designed 14.5x114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon in 1949. In the 1960s the infantry version was taken out of production because it was too big and heavy...
, and anti-aircraft missiles such as SA-16, SA-24, and Stinger
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile , which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters , developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...
.
According to a statement by CIA director George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
in 2000, Hamas has pursued a capability to conduct attacks with toxic chemicals
Chemical terrorism
Chemical terrorism is the form of terrorism that uses the toxic effects of chemicals to kill, injure, or otherwise adversely affect the interests of its targets.-Used by Hamas in Israel:...
. There have been reports of Hamas operatives planning and preparing attacks incorporating chemicals. In one case, nails and bolts packed into explosives detonated by a Hamas suicide bomber in a December 2001 attack at the Ben-Yehuda street in Jerusalem were soaked in rat poison
Rat poison
Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents.Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill....
. In another case, Hamas operative Abbas al-Sayyid received a large quantity of cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
which he intended to insert into the explosive belt
Explosive belt
An explosive belt is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers...
s worn by suicide bombers.
Current leaders
On September 3, 2005, after Israel's withdrawal from settlements in the Gaza Strip, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam revealed for the first time the names and functions of its seven commanders on its website as well as in a printed bulletin distributed to Palestinians. Most of the information published, including pictures of three leaders, was reportedly already known by Israel's intelligence servicesMossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
. According to the bulletin, the current leaders of the brigades are:
- Mohammed DeifMohammed DeifMohammed Deif Born in 1960, is a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He gained that position after Israel killed Salah Shehade in July, 2002. Israel suspects him of being a bombmaker and holds him personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians...
- general commander - Ahmed Ja'abari - assistant to Mohammed Deif
- Marwan Isa - assistant to Mohammed Deif
- Raid Said - Gaza City commander
- Ahmad al-Ghandur - commander in northern Gaza Strip and Jabalya refugee camp
- Muhammad Abu Shamala - commander in southern Gaza Strip
- Muhammad al-Sanwar - commander in Khan Younis
On July 12, 2006, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed a house in the Sheikh Radwan
Sheikh Radwan
Sheikh Radwan is a district of Gaza City located nearly northwest of the city center. It borders al-Shati camp to the southwest, Rimal to the south, and Jabalia to the east. The Sheikh Radwan Cemetery is located in the district...
neighborhood of Gaza City, where Mohammed Deif, Ahmad al-Ghandur and Raid Said were meeting. The three-story house was completely leveled, killing Hamas official Nabil al-Salmiah, his wife and their five children, but the 3 leaders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades all escaped with moderate wounds.
On July 12, 2006 In the early morning hours Israeli aircraft blasted a house where high-level Hamas leaders were meeting. Deif survived the blast, but severely injured his spine, which could leave him paralyzed . According to some unnamed Palestinian sources, Deif's condition is very serious, with him becoming a quadruple amputee as a result.
On 6 September 2006, Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd reported that Deif was captured by Egyptian authorities while attempting to enter Egypt to get health care for injuries caused by the Israeli attack in July.
On 1 January 2009, Nizar Rayan
Nizar Rayan
Nizar Rayan was a top Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing. Also a professor of Islamic law, he came to be considered a top clerical authority within Hamas after the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004...
, a top Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing, was killed in an Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
strike during Operation Cast Lead. The day before the attack, Rayan had advocated renewal of suicide attacks on Israel, declaring, "Our only language with the Jew is through the gun". A 2,000-pound bomb was dropped on his house, also killing his 4 wives (Hiam 'Abdul Rahman Rayan, 46; Iman Khalil Rayan, 46; Nawal Isma'il Rayan, 40; and Sherine Sa'id Rayan, 25) and 11 of their children (As'ad, 2; Usama Ibn Zaid, 3; 'Aisha, 3; Reem, 4; Miriam, 5; Halima, 5; 'Abdul Rahman, 6; Abdul Qader, 12; Aaya, 12; Zainab, 15; and Ghassan, 16).
On January 3, 2009 Israeli aircraft attacked the car in which Abu Zakaria al-Jamal
Abu Zakaria al-Jamal
Abu Zakaria al-Jamal was a senior Hamas commander.Abu was the second senior Hamas member to be killed in the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict after Nizar Rayan. He was killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza on January 3, 2009...
, a leader of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam armed wing, was traveling. He subsequently died of the wounds suffered in the bombing.
On January 4, 2009 the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
struck and killed in Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis - often spelt Khan Younis or Khan Yunnis - is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006...
two senior Izz ad-Din al-Qassam leaders, Hussam Hamdan and Muhammad Hilo, both of whom the Israelis blamed for attacks against Israel. According to Israeli authorities Hussam Hamdan was in charge of rocket attacks against Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
and Ofakim, while Muhammad Hilo was reportedly behind Hamas' special forces in Khan Yunis.
On January 15, 2009, the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
bombed a house in Jabaliya, killing a prominent Qassam Brigades commander named Mohammed Watfa (the strike targeted the Palestinian Interior Minister Said Seyam
Said Seyam
Said Seyam was the Interior Minister of the Palestinian government of March 2006. He joined Hamas, and became one of its top commanders. During the Gaza War, Seyam was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia.-Personal life:...
, who was also killed).
On July 30, 2010, one of the leaders Issa Abdul-Hadi Al-Batran, aged 40, was killed at Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike.
Notable members
- Yahya Ayash
- Adnan al-GhoulAdnan al-GhoulAdnan Al-Ghoul was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He was eliminated in a targeted killing along with Imad Abbas when an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fired missiles at their car in Gaza on October 21, 2004...
- Salah ShahadeSalah ShahadeSalah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade , was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas...
- Wa'el NassarWa'el NassarWa'el Nassar was an active member and one of the senior leaders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, until his assassination by Israeli Defense Forces on May 30, 2004, in Gaza City....
- Salama Hamad
- Imad AbbasImad AbbasImad Abbas was a senior member of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, until his assassination by the Israeli Defense Forces on October 21, 2004, in Gaza City....
- Nidal Fat'hi Rabah FarahatNidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat'Nidal Fat’hi Rabah Farahat' created the Qassam rocket, a homemade weapon produced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades....
- Abu Obeida, spokesman
- Yunis al-Astal