Spotlight on Terrorism – April 2026

Hezbollah^[2]

• During April 2026 Hezbollah continued attacking military and civilian targets in Israel. From April 1 until the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect on the night of April 16, the organization issued 692 claims of responsibility for attacks on military, security and civilian targets in Israel and on IDF forces in south Lebanon. The attacks used UAVs and explosive drones, rockets, anti-tank missiles, unspecified missiles, artillery shells and anti-aircraft fire; there were also exchanges of fire with IDF forces in south Lebanon. On April 8, Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for attacks following the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, but resumed the attacks the next day after Israel and the United States said the ceasefire did not apply to Lebanon (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, April 1-17, 2026). A considerable number of the claims were not verified by the IDF spokesperson or confirmed on the ground, for example claims of fire deep into Israel.
• After the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect Hezbollah stopped attacking, but resumed on April 19, claiming a response to Israeli “violations” of continued strikes. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, the organization issued 47 claims of responsibility for attacks using explosive drones (26 claims), UAVs, artillery shells, rocket barrages, “appropriate” weapons, explosive charges and anti-aircraft fire. Most of the attacks were directed at IDF forces and Israeli UAVs in south Lebanon, however rockets were fired at Israeli communities near the border (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, April 19-30, 2026).

• Until the ceasefire, the IDF attacked thousands of terrorist targets across Lebanon from the air and on the ground, mainly in south Lebanon, the Beqa’a Valley and the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut, including Hezbollah commanders and operatives, headquarters, weapons warehouses, launching and firing positions and launchers, financial assets including buildings of the al-Qard al-Hasan association and gas stations of the al-Amanah company, bridges over the Litani River used by Hezbollah for transferring weapons and terrorist operatives, and other terrorist infrastructure and assets. IDF forces carried out extensive ground activity in south Lebanon and targeted raids to establish the forward defense zone to prevent Hezbollah activity near the border and push its attack capabilities away from communities in northern Israel. After the ceasefire, IDF forces remained within the forward defense line in south Lebanon (the Yellow Line), located and destroyed terrorist infrastructure and weapons, some of which were hidden in civilian structures, and eliminated terrorists who approached the forces or attempted to attack them. A large tunnel was destroyed in the Qantara area. It had been built with Iranian assistance, was about two kilometers long and at a depth of about 25 meters underground and had 30 shafts, equipped living spaces and large quantities of weapons intended to be used by the Radwan Force. In addition, launchers, military structures and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure were also attacked outside the Yellow Line in south Lebanon and in the Beqa’a Valley in response to ceasefire violations. Seven IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting in south Lebanon, four of them after the ceasefire, and an Israeli civilian who worked with the IDF in south Lebanon was also killed (IDF spokesperson, April 1-30, 2026).

     
Right: Illustration of the underground complex. Left: One of the living spaces
(IDF spokesperson, April 28, 2026)

• During April 2026, Hezbollah still did not formally report the names and roles of senior figures and operatives in the organization who were eliminated in IDF strikes. However, photos and names of more than a thousand commanders of various ranks and operatives in different units appeared on social media accounts, including unofficial accounts identified with Hezbollah, among them operatives of the Radwan Force. Some of the notices were official and bore the Hezbollah emblem, especially after the ceasefire, such as the X account of Qalaat al Mudiq, Hezbollah’s field Telegram channel, South Lebanon Facebook page, April 1-30, 2026:
  • On April 8, the IDF carried out the largest attack on Hezbollah targets since the beginning of the hostilities, simultaneously attacking 100 headquarters and military facilities in south Lebanon, in the Beqa’a Valley and in Beirut. According to the IDF, the attack eliminated at least 250 Hezbollah terrorist commanders and operatives, including Hassan Mustafa Nasser, commander of the logistical support headquarters in Hezbollah, responsible for smuggling and storing weapons in Lebanon and central to the organization’s reconstruction efforts; Abu Muhammad Habib, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s missile force, responsible for launching missiles at the State of Israel and a leading the missile unit’s military buildup; Ali Qassem, Abu Ali Abbas and Ali Hajazi, senior commanders in Hezbollah’s intelligence unit, which is responsible for building an intelligence picture of the State of Israel; Ali Jamil Musa, artillery chief of the Badr Unit; and Ali Muhammad Sabiti, artillery chief of the Iqlim Unit (IDF spokesperson, April 13, 2026). Reportedly, a commander named Hajj Hussein Wahib Yassin, aka al-Hajj Abu Muhammad Habib was eliminated. He came from Majdal Selm, was one of the first generation of Hezbollah and had fought in Syria alongside the former commander of the Qods Force, Qassem Soleimani, including in the battle of al-Qusayr in 2013, and served as an operational liaison between Iranian advisors and Hezbollah elite units (Janoubia and Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 12, 2026). Also reported was the death of a commander named Hassan Mustafa Nasser, aka Hassan Mustafa al-Ashqar, from the Sidon area (Janoubia and Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 9, 2026). However,    their roles at the time of their deaths were not specified.

     
Right: Death notice issued for Nasser (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 9, 2026). Left: Nasser with Hezbollah secretary general-designate Hashem Safi al-Din, who was eliminated in October 2024 (Free Iran X account, April 9, 2026)

• • On April 8, Ali Yusuf Harshi, nephew of Hezbollah secretary general Na’im Qassem, who was his personal secretary and a close advisor, was eliminated in a strike in Beirut. He had played a central role in managing Qassem’s office and security (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026). Hezbollah-affiliated social media accounts reported the death of Fadl Abbas Najem, aka Abu Abbas, who was one of Na’im Qassem’s bodyguards (Janoubia and Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 8, 2026). A member of Hezbollah’s political council, Wafiq Safa, claimed Israel had not eliminated Qassem’s personal secretary, but did not rule out the possibility that one of the Hezbollah secretary general’s relatives had indeed been eliminated (AP, April 14, 2026).

     
Right: Najem with Na’im Qassem (Nabd website, April 9, 2026).
Left: Death notice issued for Najem (Janoubia, April 8, 2026)

• • On April 8, Sheikh Sadeq al-Nabulsi, a senior religious figure in Hezbollah and the brother of Muhammad Afif al-Nabulsi, who was the organization’s communications chief and was eliminated in November 2024, was eliminated in a strike in Sidon. Al-Nabulsi received a white turban, symbolizing a religious figure, from the hands of Hezbollah’s former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, in 2003. Over the years, he published articles in Lebanese and Arab media and on social networks and was interviewed on TV, although he tried to downplay his ties to Hezbollah. In his last post, minutes before the elimination, he wrote, “The confusion is clear, from the ‘great magician’ Trump to Netanyahu, all the way to the submissive state of affairs in Lebanon,” while tagging President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (al-Nahar and al-Markazia, April 8, 2026).

• • On April 8, Maher Qassem Hamdan, who commanded the Lebanese Companies for Resistance to the Israeli Occupation^[3] in Shebaa in south Lebanon, was eliminated in a strike in Sidon. He had been responsible for recruiting terrorists, supplying weapons and funding the Lebanese Companies in Shebaa. Seven other terrorist operatives who fled from Shebaa to the Sidon area were eliminated in the same attack (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026). Reportedly, Ali Maher Hamdan, Mustafa Maher Hamdan, Khaled Muhammad Nassif, Hadi Ali Nassif, Muhammad Ali Nassif, Isma’il Muhammad Nassif and Rada Wassim Farasha were also eliminated with Maher Qassem Hamdan in the strike in Sidon (Ya Tyre Instagram account, April 8, 2026).

   
Right: Hamdan’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026). Left: Hamdan (right) and the seven other eliminated terrorists (Abdallah Jaafar X account, April 8, 2026)

• • On April 16, until the ceasefire went into effect at midnight, the IDF eliminated at least 150 Hezbollah operatives and attacked more than 300 military-terrorist Hezbollah facilities and assets. Among those eliminated was Ali Rida Abbas, who according to the IDF commanded the Bint Jbeil sector and for years had promoted terrorist activity against IDF forces and the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, April 19, 2026). A death notice was issued on Hezbollah-affiliated social media accounts for the jihadist commander, Ali Rida Abbas, aka al-Hajj Abu Hussein Barish, but his role was not specified (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 19, 2026). Reportedly Abbas, 62, from the town of Barish in the Tyre area, had belonged to Hezbollah for more than 40 years and was appointed commander of the Radwan Force after the elimination of Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s operations array, in September 2024.^[4] According to claims, he underwent military training in Iran, was considered an expert in guerrilla warfare and had survived several Israeli attempts to eliminate him in the past (Janoubia and al-Hadath, April 19, 2026). Hezbollah-affiliated social media accounts also reported the death of a commander named Ali Misbah Jabber, aka Abu al-Hadi, who had been a commander of the Bint Jbeil sector (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 19, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice issue for Abbas. Left: Death notice issued for Jabber
(Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 19, 2026)

• • Hezbollah-affiliated social networks issued death notices for other senior commanders who were also called jihad commanders. They were Ali Ahmed Melhem, aka al-Hajj Murtada (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 20, 2026), and Muhammad Kamel Mahdi, aka al-Hajj Abu Ali Mahdi (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 21, 2026). When they were eliminated and their specific roles were not reported.

     
Right: Death notice issued for Melhem. Left: Death notice issued for Mahdi
(Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 20-21, 2026)

• During April 2026 the deaths of foreign nationals who were eliminated fighting alongside Hezbollah were reported:
  • On April 1, Ibrahim Hassan al-Mebirik, originally from Qatif in Saudi Arabia, was reported eliminated with his “Lebanese brothers” in south Lebanon on March 30 (Iranian Arabic news X account, April 1, 2026; Adloun Media Facebook page, April 2, 2026).

• • On April 16, Sheikh Ali al-Mahouzi al-Bahrani was reported eliminated in clashes in Bint Jbeil in south Lebanon, the first Bahraini eliminated fighting alongside Hezbollah (Tyre News Agency X account, April 16, 2026). A Shi’ite news website exploited his death to attack the Bahraini regime over normalization with Israel, writing that “the martyrdom of the first Bahraini restored the faith of the Bahraini people and the adoption of the ‘resistance’ in Palestine and Lebanon, supporting it and embracing it, regardless of how the rulers conspired against it” (Bahrain Mirror X account, April 27, 2026).

• • On April 26, Ali Shaheed Matar al-Ziyadi was eliminated fighting alongside “his Lebanese brothers” in the village of Yahmar in south Lebanon. According to reports, Matar, originally from Diwaniyah in Iraq who lived in the village of Jouz in south Lebanon, was a commander in al-Hashd al-Shaabi, the umbrella organization of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq (Tyre News Agency Facebook page, April 26, 2026; Tarek Abu Zeinab X account, April 27, 2026). The al-Hashd al-Shaabi X account also reported on the death of Ali Shaheed Matar al-Jabari (from Diwaniyah) (al-Hashd al-Shaabi recruitment group X account, April 26, 2026).

Imam Hussein Division^[5]

• On April 5, the IDF attacked a headquarters engaged in managing the division’s fire, killing Kamal Mebirik, the division’s artillery chief. He orchestrated artillery attacks on the territory of the State of Israel and on IDF forces in south Lebanon, procured weapons and was chief of staff of the division commander, Yahya Hussein (IDF spokesperson, April 6, 2026). Hezbollah called him the “martyr commander” Kamal Malham Mebirik, aka Kamil, stating that he was behind the April 5 cruise missile attack on an Israeli warship (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 6, 2026). According to reports, the missile hit a British destroyer (al-Hadath, April 5, 2026).

     
Right: Mebirik (Ya Janoub 2 Facebook page, April 6, 2026). Left: Attributing the launch of the cruise missile to Mebirik (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 6, 2026)

The Amal Movement

• During March 2026 Amal announced the deaths of at least 55 of its operatives in IDF strikes, including medics and operatives in its scout movement as well as women and children members. It claimed ten as “jihad fighters”, including Muhammad Ahmed Diya, 80 years old. Six were eliminated in the town of Tefahta on April 11. Another “jihad fighter” was Abd al-Halim al-Sheikh Mohsen Qabalan, a member of Amal’s advisory council who in the past managed the Supreme Shi’ite Islamic Council and headed the movement’s central services (Amal Telegram channel and Amal Central Information Office X account, April 1-30, 2026).

Palestinians

Hamas

• On April 27, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military-terrorist wing, reported the deaths of Ibrahim Khalili and Hudhaifa Ghnaimeh, both from the Shatila refugee camp, during the fighting in south Lebanon (Quds Agency and Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 27, 2026).

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

• On April 18, the PFLP reported the death of Bilal Mustafa Attour, aka Abu Anas, who was eliminated during a “defensive combat mission.” He reportedly joined the organization as a young man, believing that “continuous struggle” was the only way to achieve the “rights of the oppressed” (PFLP Telegram channel, April 18, 2026). He was eliminated in south Lebanon, reportedly the first casualty from the al-Jalil (Wavell) refugee camp in the Beqa’a Valley (Palestinian Refugees Portal, April 20, 2026).

• On April 18, the PFLP reported the death of the “academician, historian and social activist” Dr. Maha Abu Khalil, 80, from the town of al-Quleileh in the Tyre region, eliminated in an Israeli strike in Tyre on April 17, minutes before the ceasefire began. She was called “a woman of struggle who combined thought, national commitment, social and educational work,” and was involved in early stages of the “struggle” for the Palestinian “cause” (PFLP Telegram channel, April 18, 2026). She participated in an attempt to hijack an El Al flight to Italy during a layover at the Athens airport in December 1969. The attack was prevented when one of the cell members was found to be in possession of hand grenades, and she was arrested with two of her partners. They were released in August 1970 together with four additional terrorists who were held in Greece after Palestinian terrorists hijacked a Greek passenger airplane (al-Akhbar, April 21, 2026; Palestinian Media Center, April 22, 2026).

.   
Right: Death notice issued by the PFLP for Abu Khalil (PFLP Telegram channel, April 18, 2026). Left: Abu Khalil with PFLP founder George Habash (al-Akhbar, April 21, 2026)

Other Palestinians

• On April 5, Khaled Ali al-Hassan, from the al-Rashidiya refugee camp, was eliminated in an attack on his motorcycle on the Tyre–al-Rashidiya road (Ya Tyre Instagram account, April 5, 2026). On April 15, Ahmed Muhammad Taha, from the al-Bass refugee camp in south Lebanon, was eliminated in an attack on his motorcycle in Tyre (Palestinian Refugees Portal X account, April 15, 2026). On April 20, the bodies of Salim al-Maghrabi and Muhammad al-Jamal, from the al-Bass refugee camp, were recovered from a car hit during an Israeli attack which destroyed the al-Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River, four days earlier (Ya Tyre Instagram account, April 20, 2026).

    
Death notices issued for al-Jamal (right) and al-Maghrabi
(Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 20, 2026)

• On April 28, Palestinian “resistance factions”^[6] in Lebanon reported the death of Ayman Atef Dakhloul, aka Abu Hudhaifa, born in 1996 from the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp, a member of a refugee family from the village of al-Na’ama in the Galilee panhandle which was abandoned in 1948. He was reportedly eliminated on the way to “Palestine” to “fight Zionist aggression,” and was committed to the “issues of his people and “national identity” (Shehab Agency, April 28, 2026).

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party

• During April 2026, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party reported the deaths of two operatives:
• “Comrade” Muhammad Ali Hammoud, eliminated in the town of Tefahta on April 11. He joined the Party in March 2008 (Party website, April 11, 2026).
• “Comrade” Salim Abd al-Hussein Murad, eliminated while he standing alongside the residents of his town of Haboush in south Lebanon on April 16. He joined the Party since January 1976 (Party X account, April 16, 2026).

   
Right: Death notice issued for the death of Hammoud (Party website, April 11, 2026). Left: Death notice issued for the death of Murad (Party X account, April 16, 2026)

The IDF

• During April 2026 IDF forces continued activity within the Yellow Line (the area under IDF control) in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. The forces eliminated terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line or posed a threat, and attacked in various areas of the Strip after identifying terrorist intentions to attack. Weapons and tunnels located within the Yellow Line were destroyed (IDF spokesperson, April 1-30, 2026):
  • On April 4, Ali Ahmed Ali al-Amarin, a Hamas terrorist operative, was eliminated in a strike in the central Gaza Strip. He was a weapons smuggler who supplied Hamas terrorist operatives throughout the Strip (IDF spokesperson, April 6, 2026). Ali Ahmed al-Amarin, 36, was eliminated in an Israeli strike on a vehicle on Salah al-Din road, near the entrance to the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip (Qadeyah1 X account and al-Nuseirat news Telegram channel, April 4, 2026).

• • On April 5, Abd al-Rahman Ammar Hassan al-Hadari, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist operative who promoted an attack on IDF forces operating in the northern Strip, was eliminated. He had participated in the raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre. Three Hamas operatives were eliminated in the same attack (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026). He was eliminated in an attack on a group of Gazans near the al-Jazeera Club in western Gaza City (journalist Yassin Qadih’s Telegram channel, April 5, 2026). Reportedly, “commander” Abd al-Rahman Ammar al-Hadari, commander of the southern battalion of the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing in the al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood in Gaza City, was eliminated in an airstrike in the city center (al-Siyad Telegram channel, April 5, 2026). The Jerusalem Brigades, the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing, confirmed the death of Abd al-Rahman Ammar Hassan al-Hadari from the Gaza Brigade (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, April 23, 2026).

     
Right: Al-Hadari’s “ID card” (the IDF called him Hodari) (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026).
Left: Al-Hadari (al-Siyad Telegram channel, April 5, 2026)

• • On April 6, Muhammad Dawad, a Hamas engineer specializing in the production of explosives, was eliminated in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip. Expert in the production of weapons and the execution of terrorist attacks, he was a genuine threat to IDF forces. He led and advanced dozens of terrorist activities against IDF forces during the war (IDF spokesperson, April 8, 2026). Hamas reported that the “young man” Muhammad Dawad died an Israeli UAV attack on a group of Gazans in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the north of Gaza City (al-Quds, April 6, 2026).
  • On April 6, the IDF eliminated armed Hamas terrorists who approached the Yellow Line to attack IDF forces in the central Gaza Strip. Among those eliminated was Yusuf Ibrahim Muhammad Bashiti, part of the terrorist cell responsible for the incident in which 21 IDF soldiers were eliminated in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in January 2024, when anti-tank missiles were fired at buildings in which they were staying and at a nearby tank. Other Hamas terrorists were eliminated in the same attack, including Musa Muhammad Ali Aidi, a military-terrorist wing operative and an officer in Hamas police; Abdallah Jihad Abd al-Majid Abu Mu’aylaq, a nukhba operative; Shadi Saad al-Din Muhammad Abu Ayash, a cell commander in Hamas (IDF spokesperson, April 13, 2026). Exchanges of fire and clashes were reported between Hamas gunmen and residents of the al-Maghazi refugee camp and operatives of a militia that receives Israeli support who tried to break into civilian homes and into a UNRWA school in which displaced persons were staying. At least ten Gazans were eliminated and 44 were wounded. Eyewitnesses claimed that the armed group received cover from Israeli fire and drones, which assisted it to withdraw (aljazeera.net, April 8, 2026). The dead included Musa Muhammad Ali al-Aidi, Abdallah Jihad Abd al-Majid Abu Mu’aylaq, Shadi Saad al-Din Mahmoud Abu Ayash, Yusuf Abd al-Mutalib Abu Shahada, Yusuf Ibrahim Muhammad al-Bashiti, Fares Muhammad Salman Abu Hiyab, Muhammad Subhi Mustafa Arfa and Nazek Abd al-Aziz Isma’il Abu Shammala (Shehab Agency, April 6, 2026). Ghassan al-Dahini, who heads the Popular Forces militia, stated that the people’s forces in the central districts had eliminated Musa al-Aidi, commander of Hamas’ Sahm Unit, and six of the unit’s operatives in a strike in the al-Maghazi refugee camp, stating that Hamas operatives had opened fire at civilians in revenge (Ghassan al-Dahini’s Facebook page, April 6, 2026). Shuki Abu Nassira, head of the Free Homeland Forces militia, reported five Hamas operatives eliminated in the strike, and their military equipment had been seized (Facebook page of Shawqi Abu Nassira’s militia, Free Homeland Forces, April 6, 2026). The Hamas military-terrorist wing confirmed that Yusuf Ibrahim Bashiti was a Hamas operative and claimed him as a hero of the ambush in al-Maghazi that claimed the lives of 21 Zionist soldiers and officers (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 13, 2026).

   
Right: Bashiti’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, April 13, 2026). Left: Death notice issued for Bashiti (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 13, 2026)

• • On April 8, Muhammad Samir Muhammad Washah, a terrorist operative in Hamas’ rocket and weapons production headquarters who operated as an “Al Jazeera correspondent” was eliminated. According to the IDF, throughout the war Washah produced drones, rockets and weapons, and dealt in transferring weapons in the Gaza Strip. He also exploited his activity as a “correspondent” to orchestrate terrorist attacks on IDF forces and the State of Israel and (IDF spokesperson, April 9, 2026).^[7] Muhammad Washah was eliminated and another Gazan was wounded in an attack on a vehicle in the al-Shati al-Ajlin area in western Gaza City (Quds Agency, April 8, 2026). Al Jazeera condemned the killing of Washah and claiming it was a “deliberate attack on media personnel.” The network called on the international community, the media and human rights organizations to demand accountability from those responsible (Al Jazeera, April 8, 2026).

   
Right: Death notice issued by Al Jazeera for Washah death (Al Jazeera X account, April 8, 2026). Left: Washah during Hamas military activity (Avichay Adraee [IDF Arabic spokesman]’s X account, February 11, 2024)

• • On April 7, the death of Muhammad Nabil Ammar, aka Abu Khaled, was reported one of the armed Hamas terrorist operatives who were trapped in tunnels in Rafah (Qadeyah1 X account and Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 7, 2026).

• • On April 9, Mahmoud Barim, an operative of the al-Mujahideen Brigades who surveilled IDF forces and possessed a large quantity of weapons, was eliminated in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, April 10, 2026).
  • On April 9, Ahmad Muhammad Saleh, a Hamas nukhba operative who promoted attacks on IDF forces, was eliminated in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip, along with several other Hamas terrorists (IDF spokesperson, April 10, 2026). An Israeli UAV attack near the al-Yaman al-Saeed hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp eliminated Ahmed Muhammad Abd al-Fattah Saleh, 37, and Abdallah Muhammad Muhammad Saleh, 25 (al-Risalah, April 9, 2026).

• • On April 11, a Hamas terrorist cell which approached the Yellow Line to attack IDF forces in the central Gaza Strip was eliminated. One of the terrorists was Ali Sami Muhammad Shaqra, a Hamas nukhba commander who participated in the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre and was involved in the abduction of four Israeli civilians to the Gaza Strip. Also eliminated were Muhammad Mabhouh, a regional company commander in the al-Bureij Battalion, and Muhammad Fuad Gasser Sayid, who held an Israeli hostage in Hamas captivity. Other nukhba terrorists were eliminated, some of whom fired rockets into Israeli territory (IDF spokesperson, April 12, 2026). Six Gazans were reportedly eliminated by an Israeli aircraft attack on “residents” near the Abu Madin Mosque in the al-Bureij refugee camp (Shehab Agency, April 11, 2026). A commander in the al-Qassam Brigades said they were operatives in the Hamas military-terrorist wing and were deployed in the area of the Anis stadium in the al-Bureij refugee camp prevent attempts to break into the compound after it was claimed that gunmen broke into the place the previous day (al-Sharq al-Awsat, April 12, 2026). The Hamas military-terrorist wing confirmed that the six dead belonged to the al-Muqaddam Battalion in the Central Strip Brigade. They were Salim Jamal al-Maghari, Muhammad al-Maqousi, Ali al-Shaqra, Muhammad al-Sayid, Musa Saleh and Muhammad al-Mabhouh (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 11, 2026). Ali al-Shaqra, aka Abu Musalma, commanded an elite unit in the al-Bureij refugee camp battalion and participated in the terrorist attack and massacre (al-Siyad, April 12, 2026).    Reportedly, he was a “journalist” (Quds Agency, April 11, 2026).^[8]

• • On April 13, Islam Hisham Riyad Kanita and Mahmoud Hamed Yusuf Hamduna, key operatives in Hamas’ production unit, were eliminated in a strike in Gaza City. The two had worked extensively to restore Hamas’ military-terrorist capabilities, including during the ceasefire (IDF spokesperson, April 16, 2026). Islam Hisham Kanita was eliminated and two others were wounded, one of them seriously, in a strike on a café in the al-Rimal neighborhood in western Gaza City (Palestine Online, April 13, 2026).

• • On April 14, Ahmed Abu Hassira, a commander in the Hamas communications unit in Gaza City, was eliminated. He was promoting imminent terrorist attacks on IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, April 16, 2026). He was eliminated in an Israeli strike in the al-Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City (Qadeyah1 X account and al-Risalah, April 15, 2026).
  • On April 18, the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing issued a list of 20 “commanders with military training” who were eliminated during the war and ceasefire, including platoon commanders in rocket, intelligence and security units (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, April 18, 2026). On April 20, another list was issued of 23 names of commanders with military training, most of them platoon commanders, a deputy battalion commander in the Gaza Brigade and a commander in the intelligence unit of the northern Strip Brigade (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, April 20, 2026). On April 22, another list was issued of 23 names of dead commanders from different units, including rockets, snipers, intelligence, operations and local battalions (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, April 22, 2026). Among those eliminated was Muhammad Jamal al-Mubayyid, a commander in the central recruitment unit of the Gaza Brigade. After he was eliminated on May 28, 2025, it was reported that he served as project manager in the Gaza Strip of the Turkish IHH^[9] (Alam Radio, May 28, 2025). On April 26, 22 more names were issued, including commanders from rocket units, nukhba commanders, snipers, intelligence and economy units (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram    channel, April 26, 2026).

• • On April 19, Ayman Hassaneh, a Hamas operative who manufactured and repaired weapons used by Hamas terrorists to attack IDF forces, was eliminated in the central Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, April 20, 2026) in a strike on a motorcycle near Abu Hajir station at the northern entrance to the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Strip (Quds Agency, April 19, 2026). A death notice issued on a Hamas-affiliated channel confirmed that Ayman Abu Hassaneh was an operative in the Hamas military-terrorist wing (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 20, 2026).

• • On April 20, Anas Khaled Safi, a Hamas terrorist planning an imminent attack on IDF forces, was eliminated in the central Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, April 20, 2026). Another Gazan was wounded the strike the al-Bureij refugee camp (al-Risalah, April 20, 2026). A death notice issued on a Hamas-affiliated channel confirmed he was an operative in the Hamas military-terrorist wing (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 20, 2026).

• • On April 21, a terrorist who approached IDF forces in the Yellow Line area in the southern Strip was eliminated. He was Khamis Muhammad Khamis Qattas, who participated in the raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre. During the war he led terrorist activity against IDF forces and against Israeli civilians, and recently led additional terrorists to the Yellow Line to attack IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, April 22, 2026). He was reportedly eliminated in an airstrike near the Sheikh Nasser neighborhood in eastern Khan Yunis (Shehab Agency, April 21, 2026).

• • On April 21, three terrorists were eliminated in an Israeli strike on a police post in the al-Zaqzouq junction area in the al-Amal neighborhood in northwest Khan Yunis. They were Darwish al-Attal, Saad Abu al-Hilal and Majed Abu Musa (Shehab Agency, April 21, 2026). The PIJ’s military-terrorist wing confirmed the deaths of two operatives from the Khan Yunis Brigade, Majed Alaa Walid Abu Musa and Saadi al-Hilal Saadi Abu al-Hilal (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, April 23, 2026).

     
Abu al-Hilal (right) and Abu Musa (Quds Agency, April 21, 2026)

• • On April 23, a Hamas terrorist cell planning to attack IDF forces in the central Gaza Strip was eliminated. According to the IDF, Hazem Rami Ali Aidi, a Hamas cell commander who participated in the raid into the territory of the State of Israel during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre, was eliminated. Ibrahim Mansour, who served as a platoon commander in Hamas, who led terrorist activity against IDF forces throughout the war and was a central factor in Hamas military force buildup and attempts at reconstruction, was eliminated. Maher Tantawi, who served in Hamas’ military intelligence unit, was eliminated (IDF spokesperson, April 25, 2026). An attack on a vehicle on Salah al-Din Street in the north of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Strip eliminated Hazem Rami al-Aidi, 30, from the al-Maghazi refugee camp, Maher Abd al-Munim al-Tantawi, 43, from the al-Bureij refugee camp and Ibrahim Khader Mansour, 38, from the al-Bureij refugee camp (Quds Agency, April 23, 2026). The three eliminated allegedly belonged to the civil defense mechanism in the Gaza Strip (Hamza al-Masri Telegram channel, April 23, 2026).

• • On April 28, Iyad Ahmed Abd al-Rahman al-Shanbari, head of the operations department in the Hamas “military intelligence” headquarters, was eliminated in a strike in the northern Strip. He was reportedly responsible for consolidating the operational situational picture throughout the Gaza Strip and played a central role in gathering intelligence on IDF forces for attacks. He was involved in planning the raid into Israel during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, April 29, 2026). Four terrorist operatives were killed in a strike on a vehicle in the Haidar Abd al-Shafi Square area in western Gaza City. Two of them were Iyad al-Shanbari, aka Abu Salah, a commander in the Hamas military-terrorist wing, and his son, Salah Iyad al-Shanbari (Hamza al-Masri and Halat Qassamiya Telegram channels, April 28, 2026). Al-Shanbari was reportedly a commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Beit Hanoun and had survived an elimination attempt in 2007 (Sama Agency, April 28, 2026).

     
Right: Al-Shanbari’s “ID card” (the IDF referred to him as “Shambari”) (IDF spokesperson, April 29, 2026). Left: Death notice issued for al-Shanbari (Halat Qassamiya Telegram channel, April 28, 2026)

• • On April 29, Ibrahim Abu Saqr, a Hamas terrorist operative who planned an imminent attack on IDF forces and was involved in attacking IDF forces and the State of Israel during the war, was eliminated. In addition to his being an operative in the Hamas military-terrorist wing, he was a paramedic in Hamas’ military medical services and therefore was a risk to the medical system and the civilian population in the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, April 30, 2026). Reportedly, the “paramedic” Ibrahim Saqar was eliminated in a targeted strike by an Israeli UAV in the al-Tawam Square area in the northern Strip while carrying out “humanitarian activity” (Shehab Agency, April 29, 2026).

Rocket fire

• No rockets were fired at Israeli territory during April 2026.

Annual Distribution of Rocket Fire

Terrorist Attacks

• During April 2026, two attacks were carried out, which ended without casualties, compared to March 2026, in which three attacks were carried out.
  • Attempted stabbing near Revava: On April 15, 2026, a Palestinian terrorist armed with a knife arrived at the Emek Doron farm near Revava in Samaria and attempted to stab those present. An armed civilian who shot and wounded him (Israel Police spokesperson and IDF spokesperson, April 15, 2026). He was Qusay Ibrahim Rayan, 29, from the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan west of Salfit, reportedly wounded by “settler gunfire” near the town of Deir Istiya. Local sources claimed that the settler fired at Rayan as he was passing by and reported his condition as stable (Ma’an Agency, April 15, 2026). Israeli security forces raided the home of Rayan’s family (Quds Agency, April 15, 2026).

• • Stabbing in Negohot: On April 18, an alert was activated over suspicion of terrorist infiltration into the community of Negohot in the Mount Hebron area. A community security guard arrived at the gate after a suspect was identified at the site and the terrorist ran toward him with a knife; he was shot and killed. IDF forces raided the terrorist’s home and located improvised weapons and military equipment at the site, and detained his brother for questioning (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, April 18, 2026). The Palestinian Authority general authority for civilian affairs reported that Muhammad Ahmed Sweiti, 25, was eliminated by fire from the occupation in the town of al-Fawwar, south of the city of Dura (Quds Agency, April 18, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the shaheed Muhammad Ahmad Sweiti, who was shot by “occupation forces” in the city of Dura (Hamas Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, April 18, 2026).

Significant Terrorist Attacks – 2026^[10]

Significant Terrorist attacks – Annual Distribution

Israeli Security Force Activity

• During April 2026, Israeli security forces continued routine activity to prevent terrorism throughout Judea and Samaria, eliminating terrorists who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices, and detaining hundreds of wanted Palestinians and Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity, planning attacks and manufacturing and dealing weapons. The forces seized weapons, explosive devices and lathes, as well as funds for financing terrorist activity and incitement material, and prevented weapons from being smuggled across the Jordanian and Egyptian borders (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, April 1-30, 2026:
  • On April 14, Israeli security forces operating in the village of Ein Umm al-Sharayet in the Binyamin region detained two terrorists forming a terrorist network (IDF spokesperson, April 15, 2026).
  • On April 16, Israeli security forces operated in the village of Beit Duku in the Binyamin region. Terrorists rioted and rocks were thrown at the forces. The rock-thrower was shot and killed (IDF spokesperson, April 16, 2026). The Jerusalem District of the Palestinian Authority reported that Muhammad Murad Rayan, 17, from Beit Duku, northwest of Jerusalem, was killed by gunfire when “occupation forces” raided the town (Quds Agency, April 16, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the shaheed Muhammad Murad Rayan, who was killed by “occupation fire” during clashes in the town of Beit Duku (Hamas Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, April 16, 2026).

• • On April 23, Israeli security forces eliminated a Palestinian terrorist who threw rocks at them while they were engaged in operational activity in Nablus (Israeli media, April 23, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Yusuf Sameh Ishtayeh, 15, from the village of Tel, was killed by “occupation fire” in Nablus (Quds Agency and Palestinian Media Center, April 23, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the shaheed Yusuf Sameh Ishtayeh, killed by “occupation fire” in Nablus (Hamas Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, April 23, 2026).

• • On April 29, two Palestinian terrorists attacked IDF forces operating in the town of Silwad in the Ramallah area and wounded two soldiers. The forces shot and killed one and detained the other (IDF spokesperson, April 29, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Abd al-Halim Ruhi Abd al-Halim Hamad, 37, was killed by “occupation fire” in Silwad (Palestinian Media Center, April 29, 2026). An IDF force raided the family home in Silwad and that the soldiers reportedly “mistreated the family.” The “provocations” made Abd al-Halim Ruhi Hamad stab and wound two soldiers inside the house. Hamad was shot and killed and the force detained his father and brother; the father was later released. Hamad’s brother was eliminated by army fire in May 2021 (Quds Agency, April 29, 2026). Hamas praised the attack (Hamas Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, April 29, 2026).

• • On April 29, Palestinian terrorists threw stones at IDF forces operating in Hebron. The soldiers shot at the terrorists; no Israeli casualties were reported (IDF spokesperson, April 29, 2026). Ibrahim Abd al-Fattah al-Khayat, 16, was reported killed by “occupation fire” in Hebron (Quds Agency, April 29, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Ibrahim Abd al-Khayat, killed by “occupation fire” in Hebron (Hamas Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, April 29, 2026).

• During April 2026 security forces also carried out counterterrorism activities inside the State of Israel:
  • On April 16, 19 Israeli Arabs were detained in Bir Hadaj in the Negev, some on suspicion of smuggling weapons. Ten drones suspected of having been used for smuggling were seized, as were ten M16 rifles and additional criminal equipment (Israel Police spokesperson, April 29, 2026).
  • On April 22, a resident of east Jerusalem, 42 years old, was detained on suspicion of planning to carry out an attack during Independence Day celebrations. He was detained after he posted his alleged intention to carry out a terrorist attack. A knife and other weapons were found in his vehicle (Israel Police spokesperson, April 22, 2026).
  • On April 30, an indictment was filed for terrorist offenses against Muhammad Abd al-Ghani (about 20 years old) from Nahf in the Galilee. According to the statement, investigation of Abd al-Ghani revealed that he pledged loyalty to ISIS, attempted to purchase a handgun and planned to attack soldiers in Karmiel. During his detention materials indicating his affiliation with ISIS were discovered in his room (Israel Police spokesperson and ISA spokesperson, April 30, 2026).

• Between April 1 and the ceasefire between Iran and the United States on April 8, Yahya Saria, the Houthi military spokesman, issued four claims of responsibility for attacks on targets in Israel. He said the attacks were in support of the fronts of “resistance and jihad” ^[11] and were the fulfillment of a “religious, moral and humanitarian [sic] duty” toward the free peoples in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. He claimed the attacks were carried out in cooperation with the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian army and Hezbollah, and had successfully achieved their objectives. After the ceasefire, the Houthis stopped their attacks, while stating that they were prepared to resume fighting (Yahya Saria Telegram channel, April 1-8, 2026):
  • April 1: Claim of an attack on “sensitive targets of the Zionist enemy in southern occupied Palestine” with a barrage of ballistic missiles. Israel reported that a ballistic missile launched from Yemen was intercepted; there were no casualties (Israeli media, April 1, 2026).
  • April 2: Claim of an attack on “vital targets of the Zionist enemy in the area of occupied Jaffa” with a barrage of ballistic missiles. Israel reported that a ballistic missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted; there were no casualties (Israeli media, April 2, 2026).
  • April 4: Claim of an attack on Lod Airport (Ben Gurion) in “occupied Jaffa and on vital military targets of the Zionist enemy in southern occupied Palestine” with a ballistic missile with a cluster warhead and several UAVs. Israel reported that a UAV launched from Yemen toward the Eilat area was intercepted outside Israeli territory and a ballistic missile launched from Yemen fell in an open area. There were no casualties (Israeli media, April 4, 2026).
  • April 6: Claim of an attack on several vital “Zionist enemy” military sites belonging in Umm Rashrash (Eilat) in “southern occupied Palestine” with a barrage of cruise missiles and UAVs. Israel reported that a UAV launched from Yemen was intercepted (Israeli media, April 6, 2026).
  • April 8: Shortly before the ceasefire went into effect, a ballistic missile launch from the direction of Yemen was identified. The launch failed and the missile fell to earth (Israeli media, April 8, 2026). The Houthis did not claim responsibility for the launch.

• During April 2026, Syrian media reported continued incursions by Israeli forces into villages in the rural areas of the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, the establishment of checkpoints and the arrest of residents (SANA, Syrian News Agency and Syrian Observatory, April 1-30, 2026).
• On April 3, a suspicious individual approached the border fence in south Syria. IDF soldiers fired warning shots (IDF spokesperson, April 3, 2026). Reportedly, Osama Fahd al-Fahd al-Nuaimi, 17, from the town of al-Rafid was killed when “occupation forces” fired a tank shell at a vehicle in the village of al-Za’aroura in the southern rural area of Quneitra (Zein al-Abidin X account and Nour al-Hassan X account, April 3, 2026). The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the incident, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law. The foreign ministry called on the international community to take immediate action to stop the “violations” (SANA, April 3, 2026).
• On April 19, the Syrian ministry of the interior announced that security forces had prevented an attack by a Hezbollah cell in the Quneitra province. According to the statement, the members of the cell disguised a civilian vehicle to hide a rocket launcher in it to fire rockets beyond the borders of Syria, however the security forces seized the vehicle and the equipment before the attack and arrested a number of suspects (SANA, April 19, 2026). Hezbollah strongly denied the “false” claims of the Syrian ministry of the interior and claimed that it has no presence whatsoever in Syrian territory (Hezbollah field Telegram channel, April 19, 2026).

     
The launcher and rockets that were seized
(Syrian ministry of the interior X account, April 19, 2026)

• On April 7, three terrorists opened fire outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. A gun battle developed between the terrorists and police forces, during which one of the terrorists was eliminated and the other two were wounded and arrested, and two police officers were wounded. The ministry of the interior reported that the three attackers belonged to a terrorist organization which “exploits religion,” a term used by Turkish authorities to describe ISIS terrorists. At least ten other suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack. The Israeli foreign ministry stated that the consulate had not been staffed for more than two years and there were no Israeli casualties (BBC Turkish and Israeli media, April 7-8, 2026). Two of the terrorists who participated in the attack were reportedly linked to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist antisemitic organization that advocates the establishment of a global caliphate through jihad and whose activity has been outlawed in a number of countries, including Turkey, although the order has not been implemented under the Erdogan administration (Nordic Monitor, April 27, 2026).
• On April 29, a British terrorist of Somali origin stabbed two skullcap-wearing Jewish passersby (aged 34 and 76) on a street in Golders Green in north London. The two were seriously wounded and the terrorist, Issa Suleiman, 45, was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Movement of the Right Companions), an organization suspected of being connected to Iran and had claimed responsibility for attacks on Jewish targets in Europe in March and April 2026, claimed responsibility for this attack as well, but it has not been officially confirmed (BBC, The Daily Telegraph, April 29-May 1, 2026).