Ayman Nofal (Arabic: أيمن نوفل; 13 May 1974 – October 2023) was a Palestinian senior commander in Al-Qassam Brigades, the militant arm of Hamas. 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.
Ayman Nofal | |
|---|---|
| أيمن نوفل | |
| Born | 13 May 1974 |
| Died | October 2023 (aged 49) Bureij, Gaza Strip |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
Biography
By 2008, Nofal was a leader in the Al-Qassam Brigades, the militant arm of Hamas, as a field commander in central Gaza.[1] Nofal was arrested along with 200 other Palestinians in the northern Egyptian city of Al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula 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.[1]
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, Egyptian authorities believed Nofal was planning to kill members of Fatah 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 Mohammed Deif and Ahmed al-Jabari.[2] Nofal escaped from an Egyptian prison in February 2011 during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Nofal was smuggled back to Gaza via a smuggling tunnel and received a hero's welcome from Hamas upon his return.[1]
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.[3]
Nofal led the Palestinian Joint Operations Room,[4] an alliance of Palestinian nationalist factions, including Islamic and secular groups.[5]
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.[6] During the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Nofal was a commander of the Central Gaza Brigade.[7][8]
On 17 October 2023, a statement from Hamas confirmed his death in an airstrike.[9][10] According to the IDF, on 17 October, he was killed in an airstrike.[11] Sources from the Israeli military said that in order to kill Nofal the military knowingly authorized a strike that they knew would kill approximately 300 other people.[12][13] Four multi-story apartment buildings were destroyed in the strike.[12] Only 70 bodies were recovered from the site on the first day, but locals in Gaza continued digging through the ruble of the building for 5 days, and believed some bodies remind under the ruble months later in April 2024.[12]
After his death, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Nofal a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for his role on Hamas's General Military Council and as its commander of military relations.[14]
References
- ^ a b c Barzak, Ibrahim (6 February 2011). "Hamas man who fled Egyptian prison celebrated". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "أيمن نوفل من سجون إسرائيل إلى السجون المصرية". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Who will fill Jabari's shoes as Hamas military chief?". Israel Hayom. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Hamas terrorist Ayman Nofal explains the workings of the Palestinian organizations' joint operations room in the Gaza Strip". Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ Tollast, Robert; Oweis, Khaled Yacoub (15 November 2023). "Who are Hamas's allies in Gaza? From Islamic Jihad to Marxist militants". The National. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Joint Room and 'Unity of the Squares': What Will the Next Israeli War on Gaza Look Like". Palestine Chronicle. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Israeli air strike kills senior Hamas armed commander Ayman Nofal in Gaza". Reuters. 17 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Rothwell, James (17 October 2023). "Hamas chief killed in Gaza airstrike". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Fabian, Emanuel. "Chief of Hamas military brigade killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Brennan, David (17 October 2023). "Top Hamas commander killed in Israeli strike". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Rapaport, Amir (20 October 2013). "Israel at War – End of Week 2: Eliminating Hamas' Nukhba Terrorists and Preparing for a Ground Operation". israeldefense.co.il. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ a b c "Israel accused of using AI to choose Gaza targets (transcript of interview)". CBC (Canada). 8 April 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
Ayman Nofal. He was the commander of Gaza's central brigade. And the source claimed that the military knowingly authorized to kill 300 Palestinian civilians alongside this target. 300 people. And we spoke to Palestinians who were witnesses of that attack, because the IDF, you know, the IDF published footage of the attack and we managed to geolocate it to where it was. And indeed, four multi-story buildings filled with apartments were bombed on the families that were inside. ... And Palestinians who talked to us, you know, said that they found 70 people dead in the first day, and for five days continuously, they took people out of the rubble.
- ^ Iraqi, Amjad (3 April 2024). "b'Lavender': The AI machine directing Israel's bombing spree in Gaza". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
In order to assassinate Ayman Nofal, the commander of Hamas' Central Gaza Brigade, a source said the army authorized the killing of approximately 300 civilians, destroying several buildings in airstrikes on Al-Bureij refugee camp on Oct. 17, based on an imprecise pinpointing of Nofal.
- ^ "Following Terrorist Attack on Israel, Treasury Sanctions Hamas Operatives and Financial Facilitators". Office of Foreign Assets Control. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.