Identity of the Palestinian fatalities in the latest round of escalation in the Gaza Strip (findings of a preliminary examination) - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Overview

On November 12-14, 2019, a round of escalation took place in the Gaza Strip following the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Atta, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). In response to his killing, the PIJ fired about 560 rockets to Israeli territory. The IDF attacked terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, mostly belonging to the PIJ. Among the attacked targets were rocket launching squads before and after a launch; rocket launching sites; weapons depots; a plant for manufacturing long-distance rockets; training compounds; outposts; operations rooms and observation posts, as well as underground facilities of the PIJ.

Photo of Bahaa Abu al-Atta published on the website of the PIJ’s military wing. The text underneath his photo reads, “The campaign continues and the account is open”
(Al-Quds Brigades website, November 17, 2019).

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported that 34 Palestinians had been killed in the latest round of escalation (with Bahaa Abu al-Atta and his wife among them). From within the 34 killed Palestinians, at least 18 (about 53%) were identified as military operatives, most of them (13) operatives of the PIJ’s military wing, who were the targets in most of the attacks. In addition, several fatalities were identified as belonging to minor terror networks, most of them operatives of Fatah splinter networks who took part in firing at Israel. Among the fatalities, there was a prominent number of operatives of the rocket launching network, who were killed while attempting to fire at Israel (which is an indication of the efficiency of the Israeli security forces in thwarting the firing attacks). In addition, nine civilians were killed, most of them members of one family in Deir al-Balah, whose home was attacked by the IDF as a result of mistaken identification (the case is under an IDF examination). A Hamas military operative was also killed, and another operative affiliated with Hamas. The large number of PIJ operatives who were killed reflects its central role in the last round of escalation (while Hamas refrained from joining the fighting).

Following are the main findings of a preliminary examination of the identity of the fatalities:
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ): A total of 13 fatalities were identified as PIJ operatives, all of them operatives of the PIJ’s military wing (prominent among them was the number of operatives killed during attempts to fire rockets at Israel).
- Hamas: Two Hamas operatives were identified. One of them was identified as an operative of Hamas’s military wing. Another operative is either affiliated with Hamas or a member of a family affiliated with Hamas (his body was wrapped in the Hamas flag).
- Fatah splinter networks: Three fatalities were identified as operatives of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades / Nidal al-Amoudi Brigade (a Fatah splinter network which apparently actively participated in the fighting).
- Fatah: Two fatalities were identified as Fatah members.
- Popular Resistance Committees (PRC): Two operatives were identified as PRC operatives who apparently actively participated in the fighting.
- Non-identified: Regarding three of the fatalities, so far it was not possible to unequivocally determine whether they were terrorist operatives or civilians.
- Civilians: At least nine civilians were killed in the attack. Seven of them were killed in an attack in Deir al-Balah as a result of mistaken identification of the house that was attacked.

Summary of the identity of the fatalities
(according to the ITIC’s initial examination)

Organization	Military wing	Affiliated with the organization	Total killed
PIJ	13, including Bahaa al-Atta		13
Hamas	One military wing operative	Two affiliated with Hamas	2
Fatah		Two (one of them was identified as former member of Force 17 – the Presidential Guard)	2
PRC	Two military wing operatives		2
Fatah splinter groups	Three operatives of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades / Nidal al-Amoudi Brigade		3
Non-identified		3	3
Civilians		Nine (including the wife of Bahaa al-Atta)	9
Total			34 fatalities

Basic information on the fatalities
(findings of a preliminary examination)

	Name	Gender	Age	Circumstances of death	Organizational affiliation
1	Bahaa Salim Hassan Abu al-Atta (Abu Salim)	Male	42	Died in a targeted killing on November 12, 2019, at his home in Al-Shejaiyah	The PIJ’s military wing
2	Ibrahim Ahmed Abdul Latif al-Dabous	Male	26	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
3	Zaki Adnan Mohammad Ghanameh	Male	25	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
4	Abdullah Awad Sakib al-Bilbeisi	Male	26	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
5	Abdul Salam Ramadan Ahmed Ahmed	Male	28	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
6	Khaled Moawad Salem Farraj	Male	38	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
7	Ala Jabr Abdul Shteiwi	Male	30	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019	The PIJ’s military wing
8	Suhail Khader Khalil Quneitah	Male	28	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	The PIJ’s military wing
9	Mahmoud Daham Mahmoud Huthot	Male	19	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	The PIJ’s military wing
10	Momen Mohammed Salman Qaddum	Male	26	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Shejaiyah	The PIJ’s military wing
11	Mohammed Abdullah Suleiman Shurrab	Male	28	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Khan Younes	The PIJ’s military wing
12	Haitham Hafez Mohammed al-Bakri	Male	22	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Khan Younes	The PIJ’s military wing
13	Yousef Rizk Khalil Abu Kamil	Male	35	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	The PIJ’s military wing
14	Islam Raafat Mohammed Ayad	Male	24	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Zeitoun	Affiliated with Hamas. His body was wrapped in the Hamas flag
15	Amir Raafat Mohammed Ayad	Male	7	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Zeitoun	Boy
16	Ibrahim Ayman Fathi Abdel Aal	Male	17	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	Non-identified
17	Ismail Ayman Fathi Abdel Aal	Male	16	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	Non-identified
18	Ahmed Ayman Fathi Abdel Aal	Male	23	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Tuffah	Hamas’s military wing
19	Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Moammar	Male	25	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in east Rafah	Popular Resistance Committees’ military wing
20	Ahmed Hassan Yousef al-Kurdi	Male	28	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in east Rafah	Popular Resistance Committees’ military wing
21	Mohammed Attia Musleh Hamouda	Male	20	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in west Beit Lahiya	Affiliated with Fatah
22	Raafat Mohammed Salman Ayad	Male	54	Killed in an IDF attack on November 13, 2019, in Al-Zeitoun	Former officer in Fatah’s Force 17 (Presidential Guard)
23	Wael Abdul Aziz Abdullah Abdul Nabi	Male	43	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in Beit Lahiya	Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades / Nidal al-Amoudi Brigade (Fatah splinter network)
24	Rani Fayez Ragab Abu Nasr (Abu Osama)	Male	35	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in Beit Lahiya	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades / Nidal al-Amoudi Brigade (Fatah splinter network)
25	Jihad Ayman Ahmed Abu Khater	Male	22	Killed in an IDF attack on November 12, 2019, in Beit Lahiya	Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades / Nidal al-Amoudi Brigade (Fatah splinter network)
26	Asma Mohammed Hassan Abu Atta	Female	39	Bahaa Abu al-Atta’s wife; died in his targeted killing	Civilian
27	Rasmi Salem Odeh al-Sawarkah (also referred to as Rasmi Abu Malhous)	Male	45	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house of Abu Malhous in Deir al-Balah	Unclear whether affiliated with the PIJ or Fatah
28	Maryam Salem Nasser al-Sawarkah	Female	45	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house of Abu Malhous in Deir al-Balah	Civilian
29	Yousra Mohammed Awwad al-Sawarkah	Female	39	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Civilian
30	Muath Mohammed Salem al-Sawarkah	Male	7	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Civilian
31	Wasim Mohammed Salem al-Sawarkah	Male	13	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Civilian
32	Muhannad Rasmi Salem Al-Sawarkah	Male	12	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Boy
33	Firas Rasmi al-Sawarkah	Male	Boy	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Boy
34	Salem Rasmi al-Sawarkah	Male	Boy	Killed by mistake in an attack on the house in Deir al-Balah	Boy