Hamas-Linked Mujahideen Leaders, Who Killed Bibas Children, Neutralised
New Delhi:
Asaad Abu Sharia, leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, a small Hamas-allied group in Gaza, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed. Another senior operative of the group, Mahmoud Kaheel, was also killed in a separate strike in the city.
The Mujahideen Brigades confirmed the deaths of Abu Sharia and Kaheel. Palestinian media reported that over 30 people died in the strike in the Sabra neighbourhood that targeted Abu Sharia. The strike that killed Kaheel also killed his wife, children, and other family members.
The Mujahideen Brigades operate primarily in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank as the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. This faction emerged in the early 1970s with the goal of resisting Israeli occupation and achieving Palestinian independence through armed struggle. The group carries out a range of military operations including rocket fire, ambushes, and guerrilla tactics. They have claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli targets and regularly cooperate with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Their arsenal includes small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, locally manufactured mortars, and short-range rockets.
According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Abu Sharia was directly involved in the October 7, 2023, attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he participated in the abductions and murders of civilians. The IDFadded that Abu Sharia orchestrated various attacks from Gaza and directed assaults on Israel from the West Bank.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Among those kidnapped were Shiri Bibas, Yarden Bibas, and their two sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, a nine-month-old baby at the time. Ariel and Kfir, along with their mother Shiri, were killed in captivity. Their bodies were returned in February and their identities confirmed through forensic evidence.
The IDF reported that the Mujahideen Brigades were responsible not only for the Bibas family's abduction and murder but also for the killings of Gadi Haggai, Judith Weinstein, and Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta. The bodies of Haggai and Weinstein, a US citizen couple aged 72 and 70, were recovered from Gaza on Wednesday night. Pinta's body was returned on Saturday.
Since the October attack, Israel has launched a sustained military offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians and injured 125,000 others. The operation is ongoing, with Israel imposing a blockade that has restricted aid deliveries for over 12 weeks. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed aid organization, briefly suspended its aid distribution on June 6 citing threats allegedly from Hamas but resumed operations the next day, reopening two aid points.
The United Nations reported that, between May 28 and June 3, 44 out of 75 planned aid movements coordinated with Israeli authorities across Gaza were denied, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
The Israeli military has ordered the forcible evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians in northern Gaza.
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