The Fatah-sponsored mourning tent erected for Muhammad Ayoub in Jabalia (Dunia al-Watan, April 21, 2018).
The body of Abdallah Muhammad Jibril al-Shimali wrapped in an Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades flag (Facebook page of QudsN, April 23, 2018).
The funeral held for Islam Muhammad Harzallah. His body is wrapped in a green Hamas flag (Facebook page of al-Risalah, April 14, 2018).
High-ranking officers in Hamas' national security forces, headed by Na'im al-Ghoul, come to pay their respects of the family (Facebook page of the national security forces in the Gaza Strip, April 15, 2018).
Overview[1]
The Hamas-controlled ministry of health in the Gaza Strip reported that 40 Palestinians have been killed during the “great return march” events since March 30, 2018, when the rioting began along the Gaza Strip-Israel border (updated to April 25, 2018).[2] The information provided by the Gaza ministry of health, which is used by the Israeli and international media, does not include a statistical distribution or distinguish between terrorist operatives (and those affiliated with them) and civilians. As far as the ITIC has been able to determine, no sources in the Gaza Strip make such a distinction. As a result, the impression given to world public opinion is that all the casualties were innocent Palestinian civilians. The analysis conducted by the ITIC shows that most of the Palestinians killed were terrorist operatives or individuals affiliated with the terrorist organizations.
- The interim findings of the ITIC analysis revealed that 32 of the 40 Palestinians killed (80%) were terrorist operatives or individuals affiliated with them, distributed as follows:
- 18 of the 32 (about 56%) were terrorist operatives belonging to or affiliated with Hamas:
- Nine were operatives in Hamas’ military wing (the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades) and operatives in Hamas’ security forces.
- Nine were affiliated with or linked to Hamas, based on circumstantial evidence (Hamas issued death notices for them, their bodies were wrapped in Hamas flags, or other supporting evidence).
- Ten were members of Fatah, two of them operatives in its military wing and eight with organizational affiliation or connections.[3]
- Two belonged to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), one to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), one to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Identities of Palestinians killed during the “great return march” who were terrorist operatives or affiliated with terrorist organizations
The ITIC’s interim findings clearly show that terrorist operatives (especially Hamas operatives), or Palestinians affiliated with terrorist organizations, play a key role in the front lines of the “great return march” demonstrations near the fence. They are primarily involved in violent clashes with the IDF and on occasion carry out terrorist attacks. Conspicuous is the small number of civilian activists and ordinary civilians, who were involved in organizing the march, involved in rioting with the IDF. They were left behind when the violence began.
Methodological note
- Among the Palestinians killed the ITIC found terrorists at several levels of organizational identification. The highest level is that of operatives in the terrorist organizations’ military wings or security forces; the lowest is membership or affiliation, or a link. In addition, there are various levels in the quality of the information relied on, from concrete information to circumstantial evidence.
[1] Update of the April 11, 2018, bulletin, "Analysis of the Identities of Gazans Killed During the "Great Return March" on March 30 and April 6, 2018." ↑
[2] The data provided by the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip do not include Palestinians killed in "work accidents," tunnel collapses, explosions or IDF aerial attacks. ↑
[3] Fatah in the Gaza Strip is involved in carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel. ↑
[4] For the distinction between the levels of affiliation, see the Methodological note. ↑
