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 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-Qas ...

, 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

. He was widely credited as the leading figure in the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, and commanded the 2006 Hamas cross-border raid which resulted in the capture of Israeli soldier

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit ( he-a, גלעד שליט, Shalit.ogg, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'', born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tu ...

. Under his command, along with chief logistics officer

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh ( ar, محمود عبد الرؤوف المبحوح; 14 February 1960 – 19 January 2010) was the chief of logistics and weapons procurement for Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He is reme ...

, Hamas developed its own military weapons capability significantly by acquiring longer-range guided missiles and rockets. While at the

Islamic University of Gaza The Islamic University of Gaza ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بغزة), also known as IUG and IU Gaza, is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City. It was the first higher education institution to be establ ...

, Jabari joined

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 s ...

, a Palestinian organization that advocated for an armed struggle against Israel. In 1982, he was arrested by the Israeli authorities and imprisoned for 13 years. After being released he joined Fatah's Islamist rival Hamas' militant wing and was believed to have been involved in the bombing of a bus in Kfar Darom, following which he was arrested by the Preventive Security Force of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

in 1998, being released the following year. In 2002, Jabari became the acting operational head of Hamas' military wing when

Mohammad Deif Mohammed Deif ( ar, محمّد ضيف ; born 1965 in Khan Younis), born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, is a Palestinian chief of staff and supreme military commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He has been Isra ...

was seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike. In this position Jabari was also a high-ranking official within Hamas' political leadership, as well as the founder of the Nur Association, which aimed to help "martyrs and prisoners." The

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

and

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, ...

conducted a targeted precision air strike on 14 November 2012, a part of

Operation Pillar of Defense In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Pillar of Defense ( he, עַמּוּד עָנָן, ''ʿAmúd ʿAnán'', literally: "Pillar of Cloud") which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, which bega ...

, killing Jabari while he was travelling in a car. The decision to liquidate him, according to ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' analyst Reuven Pedatzur, arose from a decision by Israeli military to attack Hamas rather than seek a ceasefire. Jabari was the highest-level Hamas official killed in Gaza since the 2008 Gaza War.

Early life and education

Jabari was born to an activist family based in the

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya ( ar, الشجاعية), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is a neighborhood district of the Palestinian city of Gaza and one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza with 92,000 that was forced to leave

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

due to a family

blood feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

. He graduated from Gaza's

Islamic University The term "Islamic university" ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية, ''Jami'ah Islamiyah''), sometimes called madrasah jāmiʿah ( ar, مدرسة جامعة), can be used to describe secular educational institutions that were founded by people ...

with a degree in history. In 1982, Jabari was arrested and imprisoned by Israeli authorities when he was a member of the secular Palestinian militant organization

. According to

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...

, while serving 13 years in prison, he left Fatah and joined Hamas after meeting with some of the latter's founders who were also incarcerated at the time, namely Abd al-Aziz Rantissi,

Nizar Rayyan Nizar Rayan ( ar, نزار ريان, , also transliterated Rayyan; 6 March 1959 – 1 January 2009) was a high ranking Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing. ...

and

Salah Shehadeh Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade صلاح شحادة (or Shehadeh, Shahadeh; 24 February 1953 – 22 July 2002) was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military wing of Hamas, until his as ...

Hamas

After his release, in 1995 Jabari began to act as a commander in the military wing of the Hamas. In addition, he dealt with the movement's charitable organizations and was responsible for coordinating between the collection of money and military activities. In the middle of the 1990s, Jabari was directly involved in planning suicide bombings against Israeli citizens. Then, due to his involvement with these military activities in the Gaza Strip, Jabari was arrested by the Preventive Security Force of the

in October 1998 for his alleged role in the

Kfar Darom bus attack The Kfar Darom bus attack was a 1995 suicide attack on an Israeli bus carrying civilians and soldiers to Kfar Darom, an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip. The attack killed seven Israeli soldiers and one American civilian. The Shaqaqi faction ...

. He was released in late 1999. After his release he became an assistant of

and Mohamed Aldahef, the commanders of the military wing, in charge with improvement of military actions. Thus, he was part of Hamas's high-ranking military leadership during the first intifada and of the first Intifada cell. On 26 September 2002, after an Israeli airstrike wounded Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas's principal armed wing, the

Izz al-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

, Jabari became the commander and operational head of the military wing at the height of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel ...

(the armed Palestinian uprising against Israel from 2000 to 2007). However, Deif remains its official head. According to Hamas political leader

Ayman Taha Ayman Taha ( ar, أيمن طه) (died 7 August 2014) was a senior Hamas official and the organization's spokesman in the Gaza Strip. Taha was co-founder of Hamas and also a former Hamas fighter.Bronner, EthanHamas Shifts From Rockets to Public R ...

, since Jabari took over the al-Qassam Brigades' day-to-day operations, Hamas's armed wing became increasingly professional. During the course of the Intifada, he directed several attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings, that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers. On 17 August 2004, Jabari's eldest son Mohammed, his brother and three of his cousins were killed in an Israeli air strike against Jabari's home in Gaza in an assassination attempt against him. He escaped the attack unhurt. He stated in a 2005 interview with

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

that "

Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

and resistance" were the "only ways to liberate the homeland, and not negotiation and bargains." Jabari was in charge of overseeing the captivity of

who was kidnapped by Palestinian militants in 2006 outside of the Gaza Strip; two other soldiers were killed. According to the Israeli government, Jabari played a leading role in Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in June 2007. During Israel's offensive

Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

against the Gaza Strip in December 2008, Jabari's home was allegedly destroyed in an airstrike, but the circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear and inconclusive. After long years of military activities in Hamas, Jabari became one of the influential leaders within the organization. In September 2010, Jabari threatened to increase attacks against Israel to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations: "With the power of faith, weapons and missiles, tunnels and commandos we will achieve victory for Palestine and we'll end the occupation in Gaza too." When a prisoners-exchange was arranged handing back Shalit to Israel in return for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in October 2011, Jabari personally escorted Shalit to the

Rafah Crossing The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel pe ...

with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, making a rare public appearance. Abu Hudaifa, a close confidante, noted that Jabari "followed the mission until the end in minute detail by himself." In an interview with ''

Al Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred v ...

'' newspaper, Jabari confirmed that most of the 477 prisoners released in the first part of the prisoner exchange were collectively responsible for the deaths of 569 Israelis. In April 2012, Jabari was elected to the political bureau of Hamas. Jabari was also instrumental in enforcing ceasefires from the Palestinian side, which included restricting rival militants groups from firing rockets and missiles. In addition to his activities given above, Jabari served as a member of the group's political leadership. He also founded Nur, which is an association to assist 'martyrs and prisoners.' According to Gershon Baskin, who helped negotiate with Hamas for Gilad Shalit's release but did not speak to Jabari directly, Jabari had come to understand that continuing hostilities with Israel harmed both Hamas and the people of the Gaza Strip, and had worked hard prevent on several occasions Hamas rocket and missile attacks on Israel. When such Hamas attacks took place, they were intentionally fired in order to deter Israel for taking military action against the group. Baskin also said that Jabari "was in line to die, not an angel and not a righteous man of peace." Baskin also claimed that Jabari received a draft of a long-term ceasefire or truce agreement with Israel only hours prior to his assassination. Elhanan Miller, in ''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.

'' writes, "Baskin, who says he played a key role in negotiating for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit last year, said Jabari would not meet with him, despite several requests during the Shalit talks 'Jabari would never have direct contact with an Israeli', noting that he communicated with Jabari through Hamas official and spokesman

Ghazi Hamad Ghazi Hamad (غازي حمد) was chairman of the border crossings authority in the Gaza Strip. He was Deputy Foreign Minister in the Hamas government of 2012.

Death and funeral

Jabari was extremely cautious with his personal safety, very rarely making public appearances and not carrying a telephone. He always used couriers to relay his messages to other Hamas leaders. These steps were taken to avoid any assassination attempt since he escaped five such attacks unhurt. However, on 14 November 2012, he was killed by an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

drone strike while driving along Omar Mukhtar Street in

Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...

. He was 52 years old. His bodyguard, Mohammed Al Hams, who was traveling with him, was also killed. The assassination of Ahmed Jabari was precipitated by three days of rocket fire from militants in Gaza against southern Israel. These rocket attacks were Israel's stated reason for Jabari's assassination, which marked the official start of the Israeli offensive,

. The assassination, which was a joint operation by the

and the IAF, led to a continuation of indiscriminate Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel that had been ongoing for days before the beginning of the operation and subsequent Israeli counter strikes against targets in Gaza over a four-day period called Operation Pillar of Defense. Jabari was buried on 15 November 2012. According to ''

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is o ...

'' correspondent Rula Amin, Jabari was "considered a hero" by the people of Gaza. Thousands of mourners attended his funeral procession which began at the

Shifa Hospital Al-Shifa Hospital ( ar, مستشفى الشفاء ''Mustashfa al-Shifa''), properly known as Dar Al-Shifa Hospital ( ar, مستشفى دار الشفاء ''Mustashfat dar al-Shifa'') is the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza S ...

, passed his home, then reached the Great Mosque of Gaza for mourning prayers. The procession ended at the

Sheikh Radwan Sheikh Radwan ( ar, الشيخ رضوان) 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 th ...

cemetery in the northern part of the city where Jabari was buried.

Reactions

Hamas' Lebanon spokesman

Osama Hamdan Osama Hamdan ( ar, أسامة حمدان; born 1965) is a senior representative of Hamas in Lebanon and is a member of the organization's politburo. He is a member of the Arab National Congress and of the Arab Islamic Conference of the Board of Tr ...

said that it was likely Israel was targeting the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military commanders. Hamas asserted that the Israeli "occupation has opened the doors of hell." Other Palestinian armed groups, such as the

Popular Resistance Committees The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) ( ar, لجان المقاومة الشعبية, ''Lijān al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya'') is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of t ...

(PRC) and the

Palestinian Islamic Jihad 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 pa ...

(PIJ) also denounced the killing of Jabari and vowed swift retaliation. The PIJ said it would "respond fiercely" to Jabari's death, calling it an "act of war."Armed groups vow response to assassination of Hamas leader
''

Ma'an News Agency Ma'an News Agency (MNA; ar, وكالة معا الإخبارية) is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organization media network created in 2002 in the Palest ...

''. 14 November 2012. Member of the

PLO Executive Committee The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO EC) ( ar, اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and act ...

Saeb Erekat Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat ( ar, صائب محمد صالح عريقات ''Ṣāʼib ʻUrayqāt''; also ''ʻRēqāt, Erikat, Erakat, Arekat''; 28 April 195510 November 2020) was a Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the secretary gener ...

, condemned the "Israeli crime and assassination of Jabari." Angry protests erupted around the Shifa Hospital, where Jabari was taken, following news of his death, with members of Hamas demanding retaliation. Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest of the attacks on the Gaza Strip and the killing of Jabari. According to a foreign ministry statement, Foreign Minister Kamel Amr "condemned the series of air strikes that Israel is currently conducting against Gaza Strip and which led to the killing of Ahmed al-Jabari." Qatari Foreign Minister

Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed bin Thani Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن جاسم بن جبر آل ثاني; born 1959), also known informally by his initials HBJ, is a Qatari politician. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April ...

stated: "I condemn

he killing He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

in the name of Qatar. ..This filthy crime must not pass without a punishment." He also called on the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

to "preserve the peace and security in the world."

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

chief

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel D ...

issued condolences to Hamas stating that Jabari was a "martyr" who "had a great history in the resistance." During consultations about the Israeli airstrikes, U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

and Egyptian President

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012

Personal life

Jabari had two wives and six children. Jabari's eldest son, Mohammed, died during a 2004 Israeli airstrike. Mohamed was married to Salah Shehade's daughter.

Notes

References

External links

IDF video of strike
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabari, Ahmed 1960 births 2012 deaths Deaths by Israeli airstrikes Filmed assassinations Hamas military members Palestinian activists People from Gaza City Islamic University of Gaza alumni Assassinated Hamas members