Ihab al-Ghussein (; 12 May 1979 – 7 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as the '' de facto'' spokesman of the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

based in the

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

-administered

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

Biography

Al-Gussein was born on 12 May 1979. In 2012, he became the director of the Communications Ministry in the Gaza Strip until 2020, when he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Labor. He was involved in merging the Executive Force of Hamas into the Palestinian security forces which includes police, national and internal security, civil defense forces and firefighters. Al-Ghussein ordered the release of 150 prisoners who were members of

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

and other Palestinian factions. During Israel's air strikes against Hamas government buildings in 2008–2009 Gaza War, in which Israel claimed it killed Hamas operatives launching rockets, al-Ghussein replied that those killed were "Gazans at work, not activists launching rockets as Israel."

Death

On 7 July 2024, during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, an Israeli airstrike on the Holy Family Catholic School in

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

killed al-Ghussein and three others, according to reports by Palestinian media. Hamas confirmed his death and said an earlier airstrike on a home killed his wife and daughter. Al-Ghussein was 45.

References

1979 births 2024 deaths Assassinated Hamas members Politicians from the Gaza Strip Palestinian civil engineers Islamic University of Gaza alumni Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Civilians killed in the Israel–Hamas war Deaths by Israeli airstrikes during the Israel–Hamas war Politicians assassinated in 2024 {{Palestine-bio-stub