As'ad Abu Shari'a | |
|---|---|
| الأسعد أبو شريعة | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1977 Sabra, Gaza City |
| Died | 7 June 2025 (aged 48) Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
| Manner of death | Assassination by airstrike |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Palestinian Mujahideen Movement |
| Branch/service | Mujahideen Brigades |
| Rank | General-Secretary |
| Battles/wars | |
As'ad Abu Shari'a (Arabic:الأسعد أبو شريعة), also known as Asaad Abu Sharia or Abu al-Shayk, was a Palestinian militant and the leader of Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and its armed wing Mujahideen Brigades. [1] [2]
Abu Shari'a was born into a Palestinian refugee family in Sabra, Gaza City. He earned a law degree from Al‑Azhar University, Gaza. He began his career in Gaza’s local judiciary before transitioning to political and military leadership. [3]
On 24 April 2007, he became the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and also Commander of its armed wing Mujahideen Brigades, assuming leadership following his brother’s death from the injuries sustained in an Israeli assassination attempt. [4]
Under his leadership, the Brigades became active in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, coordinating with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad under the Palestinian Joint Operations Room. [5]
Abu Shari'a was identified by Israeli authorities as a key planner and participant in the Nir Oz attack during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. [6]
Under his leadership, he was linked to kidnapping and killing of Israeli civilians, including Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, the American-Israeli couple Gad Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai, Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, and at least one other foreign national. [7]
On 7 June 2025, an Israeli airstrike killed him in a Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza City alongside his wife, children and senior operative Mahmoud Muhammad Hamid Kuhail. [8]
The Mujahideen Brigades also confirmed his death along with his family. [9]