Late yesterday, the IDF carried out an aerial attack on a vehicle in northern Gaza, targeting an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades cell which was involved in attempts to dispatch attacks against Israel. The operation was carried out in light of the continued rocket attacks on Israel -- 140 since the beginning of last month -- despite the clear warning issued to the Palestinian Authority to stop the launching of the rockets.
Unfortunately, Imad Mahmad Ibrahim Abu Hamad, head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Gaza, was only injured in the attack. He has directed terror attacks against Israel and was deeply involved in the funding and establishing of their rocket launching capabilities.
Some background on Abu Hamad... he is a former intelligence officer in the Palestinian police and has undergone extensive military and surveillance training. He began his activity against Israel in the early 90s, when he served in Fatah's shock troops in northern Gaza. During his time he recruited and trained many military units.
In 2002 he began operating under the command of Jammal Abu Samhadana -- recently killed by the IDF -- in the Popular Resistance Committees. In this role he established close contacts with Hezbollah and with several activists in Gaza and in the West Bank.
In mid 2004 Abu Hamad returned to al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, establishing himself as a central contact between Hezbollah and the al-Aqsa infrastructure in the field. During this time he pursued and directed various terror activities, among them attempts to kidnap Israeli civilians. He also gathered intelligence on the locations of Israeli forces and civilians for future attacks.
On Passover eve this year, Abu Hamad sent two gunmen to attack an IDF base located near the security fence between the Gaza and Israel. He is also known to have smuggled large amounts of weaponry into Gaza. Recently, he was involved in an attempt to carry out a large scale terror attack at the Karni crossing and in attempts to smuggle suicide bombers into Israel through Sinai.
The world must understand that responsibility lies with the terror organizations which operate from and hide within the civilian population, and with the Hamas-led government which has refused to stop the rocket attacks.
In a separate operation in the West Bank, Daud Katuni, an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades senior member who was behind a terror attack in Israel, was killed in an aerial attack. Katuni was responsible for the suicide bombing in Kedumim three months ago that claimed lives of four people. Husband and wife Rafi and Helena Halevi, National Service volunteer Reut Feldman and teen Shaked Lasker were killed in the attack.
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