Hamas rocket unit. Illustrative image.
Between March 22 and 26, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, revealed the names of 61 of its fighters and commanders who were killed during the recent battle in the Gaza Strip.
The heated battle started on May 10 with a rocket attack on Jerusalem. The rocket attack, which was launched from Gaza, was a response to Israeli plans to evict a number of Arab families from the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood in the city. The battle ended with an Egypt-brokered ceasefire on May 21.
In a series of posts on their official Telegram channel, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades revealed the names of 35 fighters and 26 commanders who were killed in the battle.
One of the slain commanders was Basem Subhi Shaaban Issa, also known as “Abu Imad,” the commander of al-Qassam’s Gaza Brigade. The senior commander was killed in a strike on May 12.
Basem Subhi Shaaban Issa, aka “Abu Imad”.
Basem Subhi Shaaban Issa, aka “Abu Imad”.
Another commander who was killed in the battle was engineer Mahmoud Mohamad Faris, who apparently held a senior position in al-Qassam’s drone program.
Engineer Mahmoud Mohamad Faris.
Engineer Mahmoud Mohamad Faris.
Last week, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, revealed that 15 of its fighters and four of its commanders were killed in the recent battle in the Gaza Strip. With al-Qassam’s losses, the total number of Palestinian fighters killed in Gaza comes to 80.
The total death toll is much lower then what was claimed by Israel, which said that some 225 Palestinian fighters and commanders were killed in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.
