Baha Abu al-Ata ( ar, بهاء أبو العطا; 25 November 1977 – 12 November 2019) was a leader of

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...

(PIJ). On 12 November 2019, the

Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

(IDF) killed Abu al-Ata and his wife in a

targeted killing Targeted killing is a form of murder or assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and betw ...

, four of their children and a neighbour were also reportedly injured. The killings triggered clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.

Khalil Bathani Khalil, Khelil, or Khaleel may refer to: People * Khalil (Pashtun tribe) * Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931), Lebanese-American writer, poet, visual artist, and Lebanese nationalist * Khalil (scholar), 19th century Islamic scholar in the Emirate of Har ...

became the new leader of PIJ.

Al-Quds Brigades

Al-Ata was born on 25 November 1977 in

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya ( ar, الشجاعية), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is a neighborhood district of the Palestinian people, Palestinian city of Gaza City, Gaza and one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza ...

. He joined

Al-Quds Brigades Al-Quds Brigades (AQB) ( ar, سرايا القدس, ''Saraya al-Quds'' meaning ''Jerusalem Brigades'') is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which is the second largest group in the Gaza St ...

, an armed wing of the

, in 1990, later becoming its head. The

(IDF) said, before his death, that Abu al-Ata commanded the PIJ's efforts in the northern region of the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, and was responsible for several attacks carried out against Israel in 2019, such as missile strikes towards the Israeli city of

Sderot Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the c ...

in August, and against the city of

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

in September. According to the IDF, Abu al-Ata planned to execute additional attacks in the future.

Death

On 12 November 2019, the IDF killed Abu al-Ata in a targeted air strike. The operation was based on specific intelligence provided by

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

. Clashes began between Gaza and Israel following his death.

References

1977 births 2019 deaths People from the Gaza Strip Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine members Deaths by Israeli airstrikes {{Palestine-bio-stub