Five Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives killed on the night of July 17-18, 2014, during a clash between IDF forces and a Hamas ambush in northern Gaza (facebook.com).
The findings to date
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1. This document is the seventh in a series of publications of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), as part of a project examining the names of the Palestinians killed in Operation Protective Edge. The project’s goal is to determine which of the fatalities are terrorist operatives and which are non-involved citizens, and to examine the ratio between them. The findings of the ITIC’s examination so far (based on approximately 54% of the names of the dead) suggest that terrorist operatives constitute about 52% of the fatalities who have been identified, and non-involved civilians constitute approximately 48%. This ratio may vary in the future. |
Methodological notes
2. The current document examined 150 additional names of Palestinians killed, two of which were identified as duplicate names. The list is based on the lists of the dead issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, published by the ministry spokesman, Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra (numbers 901-1032 on the list). Our examination is also based on names listed in a continuation of Dr. Al-Qudra’s list, which was published in the Hamas organ Felesteen and includes 1,281 names.[1] Most of the names examined in the current list are of Palestinians killed between July 25 and July 29, 2014.
3. To date, the ITIC has examined the names of 1,017 Palestinians killed in Operation Protective Edge. To these names, 148 names have been added, which means that a total of 1,165 names have been examined to date, representing approximately 54% of the total number (which may vary) of those killed, which was2,157 (according to reports issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, updated to September 14, 2014).
4. Weighting the findings of the current examination and the findings of the six previous examinations (detailed in the ITIC’s previous documents), with the inclusion of additional information obtained about the identity of the dead, indicates the following distribution of the 1,165 fatalities:
A. 528 of those killed were terrorist operatives.
B. 480 of those killed were non-involved civilians.
C. 157 of those killed are unidentified at this stage. Therefore, the ITIC cannot determine whether they were terrorist operatives or non-involved civilians.
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5. Of the 1,007 dead who could be identified, terrorist operatives constitute approximately 52%. Non-involved civilians constituteapproximately 48%. This ratio may vary as the ITIC continues to examine additional names of those killed. At this stage, the ITIC cannot identify 157 fatalities, constituting approximately 13.5% of the names that were examined. |
The findings of the current examination
6. An examination of an additional 150 names that appeared on the Palestinian Health Ministry’s list and in the newspaper Felesteen (see Appendix C) yielded the following findings:
A. 89 of those killed were identified as terrorist operatives (photos of 62 terrorist operatives were found, see Appendix B).
B. 42 names were identified by the ITIC as non-involved civilians.
C. The ITIC couldn’t identify 17 names and has designated them as unidentified.
D. Two names have been identified by the ITIC as duplicate names:one of a terrorist operative and one of a non-involved civilian.
7. Below is a breakdown of the organizational affiliation of the 89 terrorist operative fatalities:
A. 74 Hamas and Hamas security force operatives (mostly members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, plus a small number who served in other Hamas units and in Hamas-controlled security forces).
B. 8 PIJ / Al-Quds Battalions operatives
C. 2 Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) operatives
D. 1 Popular Resistance operative
E. 2 Fatah operatives
F. 2 terrorist operatives whose organizational affiliation is unknown
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8. Of the 131 fatalities who have been identified, 89 are terrorist operatives, representing approximately 68% of the fatalities who have been identified. 42 of those killed were non-involved civilians, representing approximately 32% of the fatalities who have been identified. The identity of the additional 17 dead is unknown. |
The large number of Hamas operatives among the dead
9. In the present examination, the large number and high percentage of Hamas operatives among the terrorists was salient. During the examination, 74 Hamas operatives and several operatives from the security forces of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip were identified. The ITIC believes that these are mainly Hamas fatalities from clashes and battles with IDF forces during the entry into the Gaza Strip and in the days that followed. The bodies of Hamas fatalities were apparently identified several days after they died and their names were included in the Palestinian Health Ministry’s lists. The ITIC believes that many Hamas operatives killed in clashes with the IDF have not yet been included in the lists as part of Hamas’s policy of concealment.
10. For example, on November 25 and 26, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades published details about five terrorists who were killed while ambushing IDF forces during the IDF’s entry into the northern Gaza Strip. According to the report, the clash occurred on the night of July 17-18 (02:30) in the area of Beit Lahia. The clash was between a Hamas ambush called “Gaps [for breaking through] of Ashkelon” and an IDF force that entered the Gaza Strip near the community of Netiv Haasara. Photographs of the five members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades who were killed in the clash appear on the front page.
Appendices
11. This document includes four appendices:
A. Appendix A: Table presenting the findings of the examination of 150 additional names of those killed in Operation Protective Edge. It is based on a list released by the Palestinian Health Ministry’s spokesman, Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, and on the newspaper Felesteen.
B. Appendix B: Photos of 62 terrorist operatives who were identified by the ITIC based on Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra’s list and the newspaper Felesteen.
C. Appendix C: An additional 150 names (in Arabic), based on lists released by Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra and the newspaper Felesteen.
D. Appendix D: Additional information and correction of errors that occurred in the previous documents.
[*]Further to the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from October 7, 2014: “Examination of the names of Palestinians killed in Operation Protective Edge - Part Six.”
[1] With regard to the follow-on list in the newspaper Felesteen, http://felesteen.ps/details/news/120562: Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra’s lists and the list in the newspaper Felesteen are virtually identical up to number 1,032, apart from three names that were not included in the newspaper Felesteen’s list. In addition, two fatalities appear on Dr. al-Qudra’s list in a different order of appearance than on the list in the newspaper Felesteen.
