Ayman Nofal ( ar, أيمن نوفل; 13 May 1974 – 17 October 2023) was a Palestinian senior commander in

Al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB

, the militant arm of

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

. Nofal was a member of the group's General Military Council, head of its Central Gaza Brigade, and head of air operations. He was killed during the

2023 Israel-Hamas war 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Biography

By 2008, Nofal was a leader in the

, the militant arm of

, as a field commander in central Gaza. Nofal was arrested along with 200 other Palestinians in the northern Egyptian city of Al-Arish in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

by Egyptian security forces in early 2008. After Palestinian militants blasted open a hole in the Egypt-Gaza barrier in protest of Egypt's cooperation with Israel in January 2008, hundreds of Palestinians, including Nofal, crossed the border into Egypt. While many of the other Palestinian border crossers were released, as a wanted person by Israel, Nofal remained in Egyptian custody. According to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, Egyptian authorities believed Nofal was planning to kill members of

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

or was involved in weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza. Hamas denied Nofal's involvement in these activities. Egyptian authorities were reportedly interested in Nofal's knowledge of Hamas' missile capabilities, the location of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and locations of senior Hamas militant leaders such as Muhammad Deif and

Ahmed al-Jabari Ahmed al-JabariAlso spelled Jaabari, Ja'bari or Ja'abari. ( ar, أحمد الجعبري; 1960; also known as Abu Mohammad) was a senior leader and second-in-command of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He was widely ...

. Nofal escaped from an Egyptian prison in February 2011 during the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

. Nofal was smuggled back to Gaza via a smuggling tunnel and received a hero's welcome from Hamas upon his return. After Ahmed Jabari was killed in an airstrike in November 2012, Nofal was considered a possible successor as Hamas's military chief. Other possible successors included Imad Akel, Central Brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour, and Mohammed Abu-Shamala.

2023 Israel–Palestine war

By 2023, Nofal was a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades's General Military Council. In this role, he also directed its relations with other militant organizations via the Palestinian Joint Operations Room. During the

, Nofal was a commander of the Central Gaza Brigade. On 17 October 2023, a statement from Hamas confirmed his death in an airstrike. After his death, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Nofal a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...

for his role on Hamas's General Military Council and as its commander of military relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nofal, Ayman 1974 births 2023 deaths Hamas military members 21st-century Palestinian people People from Deir al-Balah Governorate Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Deaths by Israeli airstrikes