Atzmona attack

Last updated
Atzmona attack
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
LocationBnei Atzmon
DateMarch 7, 2002;22 years ago (2002-03-07)
c. 23:30 (GMT+2)
Attack type
 Terrorist attack
Deaths5 civilians[ ambiguous ]
Injured23 (including four seriously injured)
Perpetrators Hamas claimed responsibility

A terrorist attack took place on the night of March 7, 2002 at the Otzem Pre-Military Preparatory School in the Israeli settlement of Atzmona in the Gaza Strip in which five of the seminary students were killed and twenty-three were injured.

Contents

Background

March 2002 was the deadliest month of the Second Intifada, known in Israel as "Black March". During the month, 135 people were killed in over a dozen attacks, and there was a suicide bombing once every two days on average. In addition to the Atzmona attack, notable attacks during the month included the Yeshivat Beit Yisrael bombing that killed 10 Israeli civilians on 2 March, the Wadi al-Haramiya sniper attack on 3 March that killed 10 Israelis, and the Café Moment bombing that killed 11 Israeli civilians on 9 March. After the Passover massacre on killed 30 people celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Israeli government launched Operation Defensive Shield targeting Palestinian militant capabilities in refugee camps and cities in the West Bank that had developed after the Israeli withdrawal after the Oslo Accords. [1]

Massacre

On March 7, 2002, at around 11:30 p.m., a terrorist from the Jebaliya refugee camp, armed with an automatic weapon, entered the Atzmona settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. He entered the settlement from the territory of the neighboring Arab village of Hamuasi, cutting a passage in the barbed wire that surrounded Atzmona. Then he went to the building of training courses for military service (“mekhina kdam-tsvait”). [2] Having entered a room intended for classes on the study of religious texts, the terrorist opened fire from a Kalashnikov assault rifle at students studying in the building and threw several grenades. After that, he ran out into the street and started shooting at passers-by and houses. He continued until he was eliminated by one of the residents of the settlement, an Israeli Defense Forces soldier. [3] From the moment the attack began until the militant's death, 10 to 20 minutes has passed, [2] during which time he managed to shoot 9 machine gun magazines and throw 7 grenades. [4]

The attack killed five Israelis and injured 23 people were injured, four seriously. [5] The wounded were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva.

Circumstances and further events

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam organization (the military wing of the Hamas movement) took responsibility for the attack. [3] The terrorist was identified as 19-year-old [4] (according to other sources, 17-year-old [6] ) Muhammad Fathi Farhat, a native of Gaza. [4]

The day after the Atzmona massacre, the Israel Defense Forces carried out major operations in the Gaza Strip in search of other militants. IDF operations killed 16 Palestinians in two villages near Khan Younis in the southern part of the strip, including the head of the area's security agency, General Ahmad Mufrij, who became the highest-ranking Palestinian security official killed since the start of the Al-Aqsa intifada. Four more Palestinians were killed by fire from Israeli ships and helicopters in a police station north of Gaza. [3]

It subsequently turned out that the ideological training of the future suicide bomber was conducted by his own mother, Maryam Muhammad Yusif Farhat, now better known as Umm Nidal. On the eve of the terrorist attack, she filmed a video with Muhammad in which she blessed his future actions and which was made public after his death. [7] In addition to Muhammad Farhat, two more sons of Umm-Nidal died in the process of preparing hostile actions against Israel - the eldest son, Nidal, during the preparation of a terrorist attack (he and five other Hamas members worked on the creation of an unmanned aerial vehicle filled with explosives [7] ), and third son Ruad in a car carrying a Qassam missile and fired upon by Israeli soldiers. [6] During the first intifada, Farhat hid one of the commanders of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Imad Akel, in her home for 14 months. Muhammad Farhat, who witnessed Akel and his associates preparing actions against the Israelis, became his student and member of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades at the age of seven. Later in an interview, Maryam Farhat talked about how she fostered a love of jihad in her sons, who fully joined the military wing of Hamas. [8] In September 2002, the IDF destroyed the Farhat family's home in Gaza as part of efforts to prevent future terrorist attacks. In 2006, Umm Nidal, after the death of Ruad, who declared that she wanted to see her other four sons as martyrs, [7] was elected as a deputy of the Palestinian Legislative Council from Hamas. [6]

During Operation Iron Swords, more than 20 years after the attack, the Israeli military killed in Gaza two senior Hamas militants it stated were involved in planning the attack in Atzmona. Mohammed Dababish was killed on November 13, 2023, and Wissam Farhat was killed on December 3, 2023. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qassam rocket</span> Palestinian homemade artillery rocket

The Qassam rocket is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near civilian areas, and are "indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers".

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qassam Brigades</span> Military wing of the Palestinian Hamas organization

The Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, is the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his presumed death on 13 July 2024, EQB is the largest and best-equipped militia operating within Gaza today.

Nidal Fat’hi Rabah Farahat created the Qassam rocket, a homemade weapon produced by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wa'el Nassar</span>

Wa'el Nassar (1973–2004) was an active member and one of the senior leaders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, until his assassination by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on 30 May 2004 in Gaza City.

Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat, or Mariam Farahat, more commonly known as Umm Nidal was a Palestinian activist popularly known by Palestinians as the "Mother of Martyrs" for her support for her sons' involvement in attacks against Israel. Three of her sons were members of Hamas killed by Israel after participating in activities and she was a close associate of the Hamas leadership for over 2 decades. She also was a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas. Farhat was one of the most prominent Islamist female leaders in Palestine and became an icon of the Second Intifada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Gaza–Israel conflict</span> Israeli military offensive in the Gaza strip

The 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict, known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains, was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006. Large-scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip, starting on 28 June 2006, which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.

Ahmed al-Jabari, also known as Abu Mohammad, was a senior leader and second-in-command of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. 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. Under his command, along with chief logistics officer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Hamas developed its own military weapons capability significantly by acquiring longer-range guided missiles and rockets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2008</span>

In 2008, Israel sought to halt the rocket and mortar fire from Gaza that killed four Israeli civilians that year and caused widespread trauma and disruption of life in Israeli towns and villages close to the Gaza border. In addition, Israel insisted that any deal include an end to Hamas's military buildup in Gaza, and movement toward the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit. Hamas wanted an end to the frequent Israeli military strikes and incursions into Gaza, and an easing of the economic blockade that Israel has imposed since Hamas took over the area in 2007.

Emad Akel also spelled Imad Akel was a commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces.

Events in the year 2002 in Israel.

Events in the year 2002 in the Palestinian territories.

The 2004 IDF outpost bombing attack was an integrated attack carried out on 12 December 2004 by a Palestinian militant squad of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam military wing of Hamas and the Fatah Hawks at an Israel Defense Forces outpost located on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Marwan Abdel Karim Ali Issa was a Palestinian militant who was the deputy commander of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades</span> Coalition of Palestinian militant groups

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank.

Tito Masoud, also spelled as Tito Mas'ud, was a Palestinian militant and leader in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. He was an important figure in Palestinian domestic weapons production. Together with Nidal Farhat, Masoud manufactured the first Qassam rocket in 2001, which is actively deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades against military and civilian targets in southern Israel.

Ahmed Abu Ghandour, also known as Abu Anas al-Ghandour, was a Palestinian senior militant in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. As commander of the Northern Gaza Brigade, he was a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades' General Military Council and was considered to be a close confidant of Hamas military commander Muhammad Deif. In 2017, Ghandour was designated by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. In November 2023, he was killed by an Israeli airstrike amid the Israel–

Wissam Farhi Farhat was a Head of Hamas's Shejaiya Battalion. He was the mastermind behind various attacks such as the Atzmona Massacre, the Nahal Oz attack and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in the North Gaza Strip</span> 2024 armed conflict in Palestine

The insurgency in the North Gaza Strip is an armed conflict centered in the North Gaza Governorate, around the besieged Gaza City after Israel announced it had dismantled 12 Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades battalions on 7 January.

References

  1. ↑ Keinon, Herb (2022-04-14). "How Operation Defensive Shield changed Israel's security reality". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 Amos Harel, Aliza Arbeli, Yair Sheleg, Ruth Sinai and Baruch Kra. (March 10, 2002). "IDF Probe Into Atzmona Attack Uncovers Serious Flaws". HaAretz. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 "Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine". UNISPAL: Division for Palestinian Rights. March 2002. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mideast Turmoil: The Scene: Arab Child Of Uprising Grew Up Into Gunman". The New York Times. March 9, 2002. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  5. ↑ "Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  6. 1 2 3 David M. Rosen. Farhat, Maryam Mohammad Yousif (aka Umm Nidal) (born 1950) // Child Soldiers: A Reference Handbook. — ABC-CLIO, 2012. — P. 154. — ISBN 978-1-59884-526-6.
  7. 1 2 3 Shlomi Eldar. (March 19, 2013). "'The Mother of Martyrs' Leaves Bloody Legacy". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  8. ↑ Michael P. Arena, Bruce A. Arrigo. The Terrorist Identity: Explaining the Terrorist Threat. — New York University Press, 2006. — P. 148. — ISBN 978-0-8147-0715-9.
  9. ↑ IDF eliminates Hamas commander integral in October 7 attack, 2014 war

31°47′19″N35°13′20″E / 31.7887°N 35.2223°E / 31.7887; 35.2223

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.