The Helles clan is a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
extended family that became known in 2008 for its violent conflict with the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
''
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 ...
military government in 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.. ...
. It is politically aligned with the
Fatah party, which controls the politics of the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, and became a suspected key player in the July 26, 2008 bus bombing in
Gaza City which killed five members of the
Izz ad-Din 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 armed wing of Hamas.
Fight against Hamas and Flight to Israel
On August 2, Hamas retaliated against the Hilles clan by raiding the predominantly Hilles neighborhood of
Sajaiyeh in
Gaza City; around nine people were killed in the ensuing gunfight and around 90 were injured. In the evening hours, the leader's brother of the clan (and former leader of the
Tanzim
''Tanzim'' ( ar, تنظيم ', "Organization") is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.
Overview
The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 by Yasser Arafat and other Fatah leaders to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely consider ...
faction of Fatah),
Ahmed Hilles, led around 188 members of the clan to
Nahal Oz and two other border crossings between Gaza and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where they laid down their weapons and were
stripsearched by Israeli troops before they were allowed onto Israeli soil; many of the wounded who fled to the border crossing, including Ahmed Hilles, were admitted to hospitals. Four were admitted to
Soroka Medical Center
Soroka University Medical Center ( he, המרכז הרפואי סורוקה, ''HaMerkaz HaRefu'i Soroka''), part of the Clalit Health Services Group, is the general hospital of Beersheba, Israel, it serves as the central hospital of the region and ...
in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
for heavier injuries, while eleven others were admitted to
Barzilai Medical Center
Barzilai Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי ברזילי, ''Merkaz Refu'i Barzilai''; ar, مركز برزيلاي الطبي) is a 617-bed hospital in Ashkelon in southern Israel. The hospital serves a population of 500,000, including a la ...
in
Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...
with lighter injuries.
While in hospital, Ahmed Hilles stated that Hamas had attacked his clan "because it doesn’t want to see such a big and strong family like mine." Furthermore, he hinted that the Hilles clan would retaliate against Hamas.
Return of fugitives
On August 3, dozens of the Hilles clan militants were sent back to Gaza; despite an agreement between the
Abbas government in the West Bank on not transferring Fatah-aligned fugitives back to Gaza, Mahmoud Abbas requested that the members of the Hilles clan be sent back. Upon arrival, some of the members of the clan were arrested and detained by Hamas militants. 87 other members of the clan were transported in a two-bus convoy to
Jericho in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
.
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
spokesperson Brig.-Gen.
Yoav Mordechai
Yoav (Poli) Mordechai ( he, יואב מרדכי; born March 25, 1964, in Jerusalem) is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces. He concluded his 36-year career in the IDF in 2018 as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Terr ...
stated that there was no threat of a major escalation of hostilities arising from the transportation of the Hilles family members to Jericho.
References
{{reflist
People from Gaza City
Palestinian families