Who are the three PIJ leaders assassinated by the Israeli occupation?
The Israeli occupation assassinated three Islamic Jihad movement leaders at dawn Tuesday. Who are they?
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The three PIJ and Al-Quds Brigades leader who were martyred in the Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip
At dawn Tuesday, the Israeli occupation carried out a brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip, during which it used 40 planes, helicopters, and drones to target several areas in the Strip, including the homes of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ) leaders, which resulted in the death of 13 Palestinians, including the three leaders.
Who are the Al-Quds Brigades leaders who were martyred as a result of the aggression?
Footage documenting one of the Israeli airstrikes on Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, earlier tonight. pic.twitter.com/A4Ae8sp8Rt
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 9, 2023
Jihad Ghannam
According to the PIJ's obituary statement, martyr Jihad Ghannam, 62, born in Rafah, is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades.
Ghannam, a member of the movement's political bureau, is the secretary of the military council in the Gaza Strip and is also considered one of the resistance leaders most wanted by the occupation since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which broke out at the end of 2000.
The martyr held many PIJ positions, including the command of the southern region in the Gaza Strip. During the past years, he survived several assassination attempts and sustained several injuries as a result. His feet and parts of his hands were amputated.
During the Intifada, Ghannam supervised numerous decisive military operations that led to the killing of many Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers back when "Israel" established settlements in the Gaza Strip.
He joined the PIJ in the late 1980s and took part in the founding of the Al-Quds Brigades and led them for a long time, and was responsible for many military, administrative, and logistic files, among others.
According to the occupation's allegations, Ghannam recently worked on coordinating and transferring funds and weapons between the PIJ and Hamas.
The martyr participated in training Resistance fighters inside the Gaza Strip, firing mortar shells, repelling incursions, and targeting Israeli occupation vehicles. He also participated in the training of PIJ Resistance fighters in Sudan.
Ghannam supervised the supply of qualitative weapons to the resistance in Gaza, as well as the recruitment of military cells in the occupied West Bank, which recently launched several operations against the occupation.
He oversaw the development of missile manufacturing in the Al-Quds Brigades, accompanied by leader Khaled Mansour who was martyred in another Israeli aggression in August 2022.
The Israeli occupation attempted to assassinate Ghannam several times, most recently in Operation Seif Al-Quds in May 2021.
He survived more than five assassination attempts, the most serious of which was in 2014 when his mother, siblings, and cousins were martyred in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his house.
The martyr's family sacrificed many of its members, most notably Ghannam's brother, Ziad, and two of his nephews.
Ghannam is considered the most prominent figure in the Al-Quds Brigades and was in direct contact with PIJ Secretary-General Ziad Al-Nakhalah, and had a distinguished and direct relationship with Akram Al-Ajouri, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Quds Brigades.
Tarek Ezzedine
The second martyr that the PIJ mourned was Tarek Ezzedine, 48, from the town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin.
The Al-Quds Brigades' statement described Ezzedine as one of the leaders of its military action in the occupied West Bank.
Ezzedine was arrested several times and was held in Israeli occupation prisons. He was subjected to torture and interrogations, the last of which was in 2002, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 25 years, on charges of taking part in Resistance operations against the Israeli occupation in the occupied West Bank.
In 2011, he was liberated from Israeli occupation prisons as part of the Loyalty of the Free deal, in which 1,027 prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit.
He was elected to the PIJ's first political bureau in 2018 and was reelected a few months ago.
According to Israeli claims, Ezzedine is considered responsible for coordinating relations between the PIJ in Gaza and Resistance forces in the occupied West Bank and supervising attacks from there, in addition to transferring money and special weapons to the Jenin Brigade.
After his liberation, Ezzedine was deported to the Gaza Strip, and he settled in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, until his martyrdom.
Khalil Al-Bahtini
According to the Al-Quds Brigades' statement, the third military commander who was martyred in the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza was Khalil Salah Al-Bahtini.
Al-Bahtini, 44, was a member of the Brigades' military council and commander of its northern region and started his activity in the PIJ in the 1990s.
Al-Bahtini is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades. He was in direct contact with many of the Brigades' leaders during the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and his military activity became more prominent after the occupation's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
He formed several active groups within the Al-Quds Brigades, especially those that oversee missile development.
The martyr was in direct relationship with leader Bahaa Abu Al-Atta, who was assassinated in 2019, and with leaders Tayseer Al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour, who were assassinated by the Israeli occupation in August 2022.
The Israeli occupation claims that the martyr took over the leadership of the northern Gaza Strip in the Al-Quds Brigades after the martyrdom of Tayseer Al-Jabari.
Response to heinous Israeli massacre will not be delayed: PIJ
Earlier, the PIJ held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the "treacherous and heinous terrorist massacre that exceeded all red lines and constituted a serious violation of the ceasefire."
In a statement, the PIJ stressed that the Palestinian response to this heinous aggression and massacre will not be late, vowing that the Al-Quds Brigades and the Resistance will never relent in retaliating for the crimes committed against the martyrs' pure blood.
The movement underlined that the enemy will not achieve its goals and objectives from this heinous crime, as the Resistance is united and its positions are firm.
The PIJ affirmed that it will be more determined to continue its path and perform its holy duties in resisting the enemy, adding that behind the leaders of Al-Quds Brigades are strong leaders and soldiers who preserve the covenant and the legacy, and carry the responsibility and determination to fight and drain the enemy and confront it in all arenas.
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