Gaza mourns PIJ's martyred leader Iyad Al-Hassani

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Hundreds of Palestinians from across the Gaza Strip gathered to mourn the member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Military Council, and Commander of Al-Quds Brigades Operations Unit, Martyr Iyad al-Hassani, "Abou Anas", and his companion, Mohammed Abdul Aal, who were assassinated by the Israeli Occupation Forces earlier on Friday.

Al-Hasani and his companion were martyred in a cowardly Israeli assassination strike in Al-Nasr neighborhood, west of Gaza City.

Large crowds attend the funeral of Iyad Al-Hassani (Abu Anas), a member of the PIJ's Military Council and Commander of the #AlQuds Brigades' Operations Unit, after he was martyred in a cowardly Israeli assassination in Al-Nasr neighborhood, in the west of #Gaza City.#Palestine… pic.twitter.com/chA684y4op

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2023

The Joint Operations Room of the Resistance Factions, Hamas, Al-Mujahideen movement, National Resistance Brigades, Al-Nasser Salaheddine Brigades, Fatah and Al-Ahrar movements also mourned the martyr, stressing that the crimes of the Israeli occupation would not obstruct the Palestinian people's Resistance and unity.

"Martyr Iyad Al-Hasani lived his life as a freedom fighter, an educator, and a Resistance advocate, devoting his life to the Resistance, taking on many roles as a commander and a fighter," the PIJ said in a statement issued in the wake of Al-Hasani's martyrdom.

The Resistance faction underlined that it would uphold the principles of the Palestinian Resistance regardless of the price and the sacrifices given toward the cause, stressing that "the response to this crime will continue."

Who is martyr Al-Hassani, Al-Quds Brigades Operations Unit Commander?

Al-Hassani joined the PIJ early on after it was founded in the 1980s. He is one of the most prominent leaders of Al-Quds Brigades and one of the most wanted Resistance leaders by the Israeli occupation, for more than 26 years.

The martyr is one of those who supervised martyrdom operations against the Israeli occupation in occupied Palestinian cities under the PIJ's former military wing (Qasam) and is the commander behind a series of other resistance operations during the second Palestinian Intifada.

Al-Hassani is considered one of the founders of (Qasam) and one of the most wanted by the Israeli occupation forces, due to his great role in planning martyrdom operations inside illegal Israeli settlements during Al-Aqsa Intifada.

One of the most prominent operations that the martyr supervised was the "Beit Lid operation, which resulted in the death of 22 Israelis and the wounding of 63 others, including 20 seriously.

Al-Hassani was one of the masterminds of the Beit Lid double operation, which is one of the most prominent PIJ operations carried out by Anwar Sukkar (Al-Shujaiya) and Salah Shaker (Rafah), on January 22, 1995, that targeted a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers at the Beit Lid crossroads.

Yedioth Ahronoth described it as "the most severe operations that targeted the Israeli army inside the Green Line."

The martyr was the commander of Al-Quds Brigades' Operations Unit for years. He played a crucial role in confronting Israeli occupation aggression against the Gaza Strip and the rocket firing toward "Israel" during the past years.

In a previous statement made on April 2022, Al-Hassani said there is complete readiness to confront new developments, pointing to a new phase launched by the heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel and the Jenin Brigade.

During a PIJ meeting held in the city of Rafah, Al-Hassani said the military leadership is satisfied with the readiness of Al-Quds Brigades for all possible scenarios and to surprise the enemy. He also touched on the Resistance situation in the occupied West Bank.

It is noteworthy that since the start of the aggression on Tuesday, the Israeli occupation assassinated Al-Quds Brigades commanders Jihad Ghannam, Khalil Al-Bahtini, Tarek Ezzedine, Ali Hassan Ghali, Ahmad Abu Daqqa, and recently Iyad Al-Hassani.

Read more: Exclusive: ‘Campaign continues, next attacks on the way": PIJ official