Spotlight on Terrorism, February 2025

Judea, Samaria and Israel

Terrorist attacks

• During February 2025, Palestinians carried out four terrorist attacks, compared with five in January 2025. Three Israelis were killed, including two IDF soldiers. Two of the attacks took place inside Israeli territory:
  • Shooting at the Tayasir checkpoint: Before dawn on February 4, an armed Palestinian terrorist infiltrated an IDF post at the Tayasir checkpoint in the Jordan Valley and opened fire; he was shot and killed in an exchange of fire. Two IDF soldiers were shot to death and eight were wounded (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, February 4, 2025). The terrorist was Muhammad Daraghmeh, the brother of Uday Radwan Mustafa Daraghmeh, an operative of the Tubas Battalion of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) military-terrorist wing, who was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli security forces in December 2024 (Quds News Agency, February 5, 2025). Hamas issued a mourning notice for Muhammad Daraghmeh, stating he had carried out a “unique operation” in Tayasir, adding that the continued “resistance operations”^[2] showed the Palestinian people’s ability to confront the “occupation” and its failure to “suppress the resistance” (Hamas in Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, February 5, 2025).

• Explosive devices placed on buses in the greater Tel Aviv area: On the evening of February 20, explosive devices detonated almost simultaneously in two empty buses parked in a lot in Bat Yam and in a bus parked in Holon. Searches reveals two more devices inside buses, one of which had an inscription reading “Revenge from the Tulkarm refugee camp.” The bombs, which weighed up to five kilograms (11 lbs), were most probably supposed to explode in the morning, but the terrorists mistakenly set them to detonate 12 hours earlier. Reportedly, the bomb designs were Iranian but they were manufactured in Tulkarm, northern Samaria (Israeli media, February 21-22, 2025). The Tulkarm Battalion of Hamas’ military-terrorist wing denied any connection to the explosions and claimed they determined only the timing, location and method of operations against Israel. They accused Israel of “spreading lies” to undermine the ranks of the “resistance”^[3] and “mislead the public.” The Battalion further claimed their operations were carried out with precise planning and that attributing actions to them which they did not carry out was merely an attempt to create confusion (Tulkarm Battalion of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades Telegram channel, February 22, 2025).
• Vehicle ramming at the Karkur Junction: On February 27, a Palestinian driver rammed into pedestrians at the Karkur Junction, then continued driving and crashed into a police vehicle at the entrance to the Gan Shmuel shopping center, where he was shot and killed by police. A 17 year-old girl was critically wounded and later died; 11 others were injured. The terrorist was Jamil Ziyoud Abu Ja’ab, from Silat al-Harithiya in Jenin, an illegal resident married to a resident of Umm al-Fahm and a father (Israeli media, February 27, 2025). “Palestinian sources” reported that he apparently wanted to avenge the wounding of his twin brother, shot by Israeli security forces in Jenin two weeks earlier (Jenin Battalion Telegram channel, February 28, 2025). Hamas praised the attack, claiming it sent a message to the “extremist occupation government” that “in the West Bank, the occupied territories and all of Palestine [sic] there are heroic resistance fighters^[4] and free revolutionaries [sic] who will not give up their rights” (Hamas in Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, February 27, 2025).

• Shooting attack near Brukhin: On the evening of February 28, 2025, shots were fired at an Israeli vehicle near the settlement of Brukhin. The driver reported being blinded by a laser pointer before the shooting. He was unharmed, but the vehicle was damaged. The attackers fled the scene (IDF spokesperson, February 28, 2025; Israeli media, March 1, 2025).

Significant terrorist attacks, 2025

Annual distribution of significant terrorist attacks

Counterterrorism

• During February 2025 Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria, eliminating terrorist operatives, detaining wanted Palestinians, exposing explosives, laboratories and weapons manufacturing workshops, and confiscating funds used to finance terrorist activities. Israeli security forces continued Operation Iron Wall, which began on January 21, 2025 to counter terrorism in northern Samaria. The operation started in Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp and was extended to Tulkarm, the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, and the Tubas and Tamun areas in the northern Jordan Valley. The IDF reported that at least 35 terrorists were eliminated, more than 100 wanted Palestinians were detained and hundreds of explosive devices were destroyed (IDF spokesperson, February 1-28, 2025):
  • On February 1, a vehicle in Qabatiya carrying a terrorist squad en route to an attack was targeted from the air. Secondary explosions were reported inside the vehicle. The attack eliminated terrorists Salah Zakarnah and Abd al-Hadi Kamil, the latter imprisoned for planning terrorist attacks and released as part of the first ceasefire and hostage release deal in November 2023. Two terrorist squads were also attacked from the air in Jenin (IDF spokesperson, February 2, 2025). Palestinian media reported that an Israeli aircraft attacked a vehicle in central Qabatiya, killing Abd Issam Alawneh and Salah Zakarnah. Simultaneously, a drone targeted a motorcycle in Jenin’s eastern neighborhood, killing Nour Shakr al-Sa’adi and Tamam al-Sa’adi. Israeli security forces reportedly shot at a group of young men in the Diwan al-Saadi neighborhood of Jenin, killing 16 year-old Ahmed Abd al-Halim al-Sa’adi and wounding two others (Nablus News Telegram channel; Wafa, February 1, 2025). According to reports, Abd al-Hadi Alawneh was released in the first ceasefire in 2023 and “returned to the battlefields against the occupation” (al-Quds Agency Telegram channel, February 1, 2025). The Jerusalem Brigades, the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing, announced the deaths of Abd al-Hadi Issam Muhammad Kamil, 18 years old, and Saleh Muhammad al-Ashab Zakarnah, 22 years old, from the Qabatiya Battalion of the Jenin Brigade. The death of Khalil Tariq al-Sa’adi, 34 years old, from the Jenin Brigade, who was killed while engaging “enemy forces” in combat zones in Jenin, was also reported (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 2, 2025). The Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, issued mourning notices for Saleh Zakarnah and Abd al-Hadi Alawneh. Hamas also issued a mourning notice for “the shaheed medic” Tamam al-Sa’adi (Hamas in Judea and  Samaria Telegram channel, February 2, 2025).

• • On February 9, Israeli security forces operated in the Nur Shams refugee camp, where three people were killed—two women and Iyad ‘Adli Fakhri al-Akhras, 20 (Wafa, February 9, 2025). Hamas’ military-terrorist wing confirmed that Iyad ‘Adli al-Akhras was one of its operatives (Hamas in Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, February 10, 2025).

• • On February 12, shots were fired at Israeli security forces operating in the Nur Shams refugee camp. The forces killed one terrorist and exchanged fire with others, during which an IDF soldier was wounded. The eliminated terrorist was found in possession of an M-16 rifle, magazines and additional military equipment (IDF spokesperson, February 12, 2025). The Hamas military-terrorist wing announced its operative Khaled Mustafa ‘Amer was killed after ambushing a “Zionist infantry force” in the al-Manshiya neighborhood of the Nur Shams camp and that he had wounded several soldiers. According to the mourning notice, he made significant contributions to jihad and “resistance,”^[5] including his involvement in an attack in Nabi Elias on April 7, 2024, in which an Israeli soldier and a settler were wounded (Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades Telegram channel, February 12, 2025). The PIJ military-terrorist wing also issued a mourning notice claiming Khaled Mustafa ‘Amer as an operative in the Tulkarm Brigadeof the Jerusalem Brigades (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 13, 2025).

     
Right: Mourning notice issued by Hamas for Khaled Mustafa ‘Amer (Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades Telegram channel, February 12, 2025). Left: Mourning notice issued by the PIJ for ‘Amer (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 13, 2025).

• • Two other terrorists were reported killed in clashes in the Nur Shams refugee camp. They were Jihad Mahmoud Hassan Masharqah, 40 years old, and Muhammad Ghassan Abu ‘Abed (al-Aqsa TV, February 14, 2025). According to the PIJ military-terrorist wing, Jihad Mahmoud Masharqah, 40 years old, and Muhammad Ghassan Abu ‘Abed, 17 years old, from the Tulkarm Brigade, were killed after ambushing a “Zionist infantry force” and exchanging fire with the rescue force on the al-Manshiyah route in the Nur Shams camp on February 12, 2025 (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 15, 2025).

     
Right: Jihad Mahmoud Masharqah. Left: Muhammad Ghassan Abu ‘Abed (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 15, 2025).

• • On February 14, ‘Adel Ahmed Bishkar was killed by Israeli security forces fire in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus (ministry of health in Ramallah Facebook page, February 14, 2025). Hamas issued a mourning notice for ” mujahid” Adel Ahmed Bishkar (Hamas in Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, February 15, 2025).

• •  On February 19, Israeli security forces operating in the al-Far’ah refugee camp eliminated three terrorists involved in weapons trafficking. Two wanted Palestinians were detained. The forces found a dismantled M-16 rifle buried in the ground, as well additional weapons and a handgun on one of the terrorists’ bodies (IDF spokesperson, Israel Police Force and Shin Bet spokesperson’s units, February 19, 2025). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported three killed by Israeli security force fire in the al-Far’ah refugee camp: Yusuf Ibrahim Abdallah Asmar, 35 years old; Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa Khalil, 19 years old; and Yusuf Hassan Mahmoud Tayeh, 36 years old (al-Quds Agency Telegram channel, February 20, 2025).

• • On February 25, “medical sources” reported the death of “the young man” Tareq Qassem Qassas, wounded by Israeli security force fire in Nablus (Shehab Agency, February 25, 2025). Hamas issued a mourning notice for “mujahid” Tareq Qassem Qassas, stating he was wounded by “occupation” force fire near the western cemetery in Nablus (Hamas in Judea and Samaria Telegram channel, February 25, 2025).

• On February 27, “the young man” Muhammad Ibrahim Sanaqrah, 25, was reported killed by Israeli security force fire in the Balata refugee camp (Quds Agency, February 27, 2025). The AAMB confirmed that Muhammad Ibrahim Sanaqrah was one of their operatives in the Balata refugee camp (AAMB Telegram channel, February 27, 2025).

• • On February 27, the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing reported that Abd al-Rahman Khaled Nawwas, 22 years old, an operative in the Tulkarm Brigade, died from his wounds after being wounded in an airstrike targeting a group of “fighters”^[6] near the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque on December 24, 2024 (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 27, 2025).

The Gaza Strip

• During February 2025, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which went into effect on January 19, 2025, continued. IDF forces shot at Gazans who posed a threat as they approached various areas of the Strip. On three occasions rockets were fired which fell inside the Gaza Strip. In response, the IDF targeted launch positions in the areas from which the rockets were fired. No rockets were launched into Israeli territory.^[7]

Monthly Distribution of Rocket and Mortar Shell Fire since June 2022

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

Hezbollah

• During February 2025 the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which went into effect on November 27, 2024, remained in place. Hezbollah did not attack Israel or IDF forces in Lebanon. On February 18, the IDF completed its withdrawal from south Lebanon except for five strategic points near the border. Before and after the withdrawal, the IDF continued operations against Hezbollah’s attempts to violate the ceasefire by targeting terrorist operatives, weapons, rocket and missile launchers and smuggling routes along the Syria-Lebanon border used to transfer arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon (IDF spokesperson, February 1-28, 2025).^[8] Hezbollah did not officially announce casualties through its media channels, but social media accounts and funerals indicated that operatives were affiliated with the organization were killed:
  • On February 15, the IDF targeted a senior operative in Hezbollah’s air unit in south Lebanon after he repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement and was involved in launching UAVs at Israeli territory (IDF spokesperson, February 15, 2025). The al-Akhbar Telegram channel reported the attack took place between Aita al-Sha’ab and Jarjou’, near Nabatieh. The Lebanese ministry of health said two people were killed and five others, including two children, were injured (Lebanese National News Agency, February 15, 2025). The casualties were identified as Abbas Ahmed Hamoud, aka Rashad, a commander in Hezbollah’s air unit (Unit 127), and director and photographer Ahmed Haitham Farhat (Shasha al-Arabiya YouTube channel, February 15, 2025; Ali Hassan’s X account, February 16, 2025). Hezbollah published a mourning notice for the “mujahideen” Abbas Ahmed Hamoud and Ahmed Haitham Farhat (Ali Hassan’s X account, February 16, 2025). A funeral was held for them Arab Salim in south Lebanon; their coffins were draped with Hezbollah flags and the organization’s anthem was played (al-Manar, February 18, 2025).

   
Right: Hezbollah’s invitation to the funeral of Hamoud and Farhat (Ali Hassan’s X account, February 16, 2025). Left: The two coffins draped with Hezbollah flags at the funeral (al-Manar, February 18, 2025).

• • On February 19, the IDF eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist operative in an airstrike who dealt weapons in Aita al-Sha’ab, south Lebanon (IDF spokesperson, February 19, 2025). The Lebanese ministry of health reported that one person was killed in a strike against a vehicle in Aita al-Sha’ab. He was Yusuf Muhammad Srour, the son of the mayor of Aita al-Sha’ab (Bint Jbeil website, February 19, 2025).

     
Right: The vehicle after the attack (al-Akhbar, February 19, 2025). Left: Yusuf Muhammad Srour (Hussein Srour’s X account, February 19, 2025).

• • On February 25, the IDF conducted an airstrike targeting Hezbollah operatives involved in manufacturing and storing strategic weapons near Ba’albek in the Beqa’a Valley (IDF spokesperson, February 25, 2025). According to reports the attack took place in the al-Sha’rah area on the outskirts of Janta, eastern Lebanon, near the Syrian border. The operatives were identified as Abbas Hussein Biro from the town of Hizzin in the Beqa’a Valley and Ibrahim Abbas al-Husseini from the town of Mashghara in the Beqa’a Valley (al-Sahiyah News Telegram channel, February 25-26, 2025). Hezbollah held a funeral for Abbas Hussein Biro, aka Hamzah (al-‘Ahed, February 26, 2025). A mourning notice t for al-Husseini identified him as a Hezbollah operative, although the organization did not officially confirm it (al-Qamar neighborhood in Mashghara Facebook page, March 2, 2025).

   
Right: Mourning notice for the death of Abbas Hussein Biro (Khoder Zaiter’s X account, February 25, 2025). Left: Mourning notice for the death of Ibrahim Abbas al-Husseini (al-Qamar neighborhood in Mashghara Facebook page, March 2, 2025)

• • On February 26, IDF forces eliminated Mehran Ali Nasser al-Din, an operative in Hezbollah’s military buildup and arms transfer unit (Unit 4400), in a strike in the Hermel region in the Beqa’a Valley. He reportedly played an important role in weapons transfers and directly collaborated with arms smugglers operating along the Syria-Lebanon border (IDF spokesperson, February 26, 2025). The Lebanese ministry of health confirmed that one person was killed in a strike on a vehicle on the Hermel-al-Qasr road (al-Janoubia, February 26, 2025). A Hezbollah mourning notice confirmed that the deceased was Mehran Ali Nasser al-Din, aka Haidar (Ali al-Khazali’s X account, February 26, 2025). He was buried in a Hezbollah ceremony in Hermel (al-‘Ahed, February 27, 2025).

     
Right: Nasser al-Din’s vehicle after the strike (al-Jadeed, February 26, 2025). Left: Hezbollah operatives with a picture of Nasser al-Din at his funeral (al-‘Ahed, February 27, 2025)

• • On February 27, the IDF eliminated Muhammad Mahdi Ali Shahin in a strike in the Hermel region of the Beqa’a Valley. According to reports he was an operative in the Hezbollah unit responsible for the Beqa’a region and had been involved in arms procurement along the Syria-Lebanon border since the ceasefire took effect in late November 2024. According to the IDF, Shahin was in contact with smugglers and middlemen for arms shipments and their distribution to Hezbollah (IDF spokesperson, February 28, 2025). An Israeli drone attacked a pickup truck with two missiles on a side road in Hermel, killing two people, including Mahdi Ali Shahin (al-Dahiyah News Telegram channel, February 27, 2025). Hezbollah held a funeral for Mahdi Ali Shahin, aka Jawad. His brother, Baqer, was killed three months earlier (al-Ahed, March 2, 2025).

     
Right: Mahdi Ali Shahin (Ali al-Zamami al-Dosari’s, February 28, 2025). Left: Shahin’s funeral (al-‘Ahed, March 2, 2025)

Casualties from other terrorist organizations

Hamas

• On February 17, Israeli security forces eliminated Muhammad Shahin, the head of the operations department of Hamas in Lebanon, in an airstrike in Sidon. According to reports, Shahin was involved in planning terrorist plots against Israeli civilians under Iranian direction and funding. During the war, he focused on promoting terror attacks, particularly firing rockets at Israel (IDF spokesperson, February 17, 2025). The Hamas military-terrorist wing announced the death of Muhammad Ibrahim Shahin, aka Abu al-Baraa, originally from “occupied Palestinian Fallujah” [the Kiryat Gat area]. He was eliminated in an Israeli Air Force strike in Sidon, south Lebanon. The announcement described him as a “pioneering fighter” whose “fingerprints were evident on the path of jihad, resistance and confrontation with the Zionist enemy,” from the second intifada to Operation al-Aqsa Flood, during which he held senior positions (Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades Telegram channel, February 17, 2025).

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Lebanon/Syria

• During February 2025, the Jerusalem Brigades, the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing, announced the deaths of seven operatives from the organization’s branches in Syria and Lebanon. According to reports they were killed “on the borders of occupied Palestine while participating in the confrontation against Zionist aggression;” the exact date of their deaths was not specified (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 1-28, 2025):
  • February 7: Ahmed Khaled Ali, Alaa Saleh Hashem and Muhammad Atiya Jaber from the Shaheed Ali al-Aswad Battalion of the PIJ Syria branch.

• • February 12: ‘Uday Mahmoud Hussein, 24 years old, from the Shaheed Ali al-Aswad Battalion of the PIJ Syria branch.
  • February 20: Muhammad Khalil Ibrahim Shehadeh, 23 years old, from the Shaheed Ali al-Aswad Battalion of the PIJ Syria branch.
  • February 21: Ali Salim Azzam, 32 years old, from the Shaheed Mahmoud al-Majdhoub Battalion of the PIJ Lebanon branch.
  • February 21: Ma’mun Hassan Hussein, 25 years old, from the Shaheed Ali al-Aswad Battalion of the PIJ Syria branch.

     
Right: ‘Uday Mahmoud Hussein. Left: Ali Salim Azzam (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 21, 2025)

Amal

• During February 2025, the Amal Movement reported the deaths of two terrorist operatives who were killed while carrying out their “national and jihadist duty in defense of Lebanon and the south.” They were Musa Samir Hamoud, aka Karbalaa, from the village of Dounin in south Lebanon, born in 2002 (Amal Telegram channel, February 13, 2025) and Mahdi Wahbeh Barakat, aka Dawood, from the town of al-Jiyeh, born in 1990 (Amal Telegram channel, February 20, 2025).The exact dates of their deaths were not specified.

     
Right: Musa Samir Hamoud. Left: Mahdi Wahbeh Barakat (Amal Telegram channel, February 13 & 20, 2025)

Syria

• In February 2025 IDF forces continued operations in the Golan Heights, conducting targeted raids in villages both within and outside the buffer zone. Weapons depots used by the Assad regime and a Hamas weapons storage facility were attacked (IDF spokesperson, February 1-28, 2025).^[9]

The Houthis in Yemen

• During February 2025, the Houthis did not attack Israeli territory or ships, following their policy since the ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip on January 19, 2025. However, senior Houthi figures continued to threaten a resumption of attacks if Israel “violated” the ceasefire or if fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed.

The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq

• During February 2025, negotiations between the Iraqi government and the pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias continued in an attempt to reach an agreement on their disarmament and integration into the country’s security forces. No agreement was reached.^[11]