Spotlight on Terrorism – January 2026

The IDF

• During January 2026, IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line (the area under IDF control) in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. They eliminated terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line, posed a threat or violated the ceasefire, and destroyed weapons and tunnels located within the Yellow Line. On January 26, Israeli security forces returned the body of police Master Sgt. Ran Guaili, the last murdered Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist attack and massacre on October 7, 2023, after locating it in a cemetery in the al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City. The American administration then announced the start of the second stage of the ceasefire agreement.^[2] IDF forces also prevented weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border. (IDF spokesperson, January 31–1, 2026). The more significant terrorist eliminations were the following:
  • On January 8, in response to an attempted rocket launch targeting Israeli territory, Kamal Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Awad, who headed the anti-tank array in Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, and Ahmed Thabet, who ran a weapons production workshop, were eliminated. An attempt was made to eliminate Ahmed Abd al-Fattah Saeed Majdalawi, a nukhba operative from the al-Nuseirat Battalion who participated in the attack on the Nova party during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, January 9, 2026). “Sources in Hamas” stated that a tent belonging to a prominent field commander in the Khan Yunis Brigade was attacked, and he was wounded, along with four fatalities. In an attack on a tent in al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis, Kamal Awad, commander of the anti-tank unit of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the sector, was eliminated, and another person survived an attack in the Khan Yunis district. Ibrahim Sabih, a prominent nukhba operative in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an attack on a caravan near the Abu Hussein school in the Jabalia refugee camp. He and his nukhba commander were the targets of the attack (al-Sharq al-Awsat, January 9, 2026).

• • On January 12, Hamas’ ministry of interior announced that the head of the criminal investigations department in the Khan Yunis police, Mahmoud Ahmed al-Astal, 40 years old, was killed in the al-Mawasi area by gunfire from a passing vehicle carrying several “agents of the occupation.” They claimed it was part of a continued effort to attack operatives of the security forces after more than 2,700 members of the ministry had been killed during the war in the Gaza Strip, about 15% of its total manpower (Telegram channel of Hamas’ ministry of interior and national security, January 12, 2026). Hussam al-Astal, leader of a militia operating in the Kizan al-Najjar area in the Khan Yunis district, which is under Israeli control, claimed responsibility for the assassination. In a video published on his Facebook page, he claimed the assassination was part of a “campaign against senior Hamas figures” and threatened to continue attacking movement operatives. He called on families in Khan Yunis to disown their sons affiliated with Hamas and warned they would be killed. He noted that the operation had been carried out outside the Yellow Line in the al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis, and declared that “what is coming will be greater and there will be many surprises” (Hussam al-Astal’s Facebook page, January 12, 2026). The National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans and Families condemned the assassination and called it a “cowardly act and a blatant violation of national, religious and human values which reflects base criminal behavior” (Shehab Agency, January 12, 2026).

• • On January 15, in response to shots fired at an IDF armored vehicle in the Rafah area, Muhammad Hamed Muhammad al-Houli, Hamas’ operations department commander in the central camps, was eliminated. He was a key figure in the brigade, directed terrorists who killed an Israeli civilian at the Nahal Oz Checkpoint in February 1995 and helped prepare the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, January 17, 2026). A “Palestinian source” said Muhammad al-Houli was killed in an attack on his home in Deir al-Balah, was among the most prominent commanders of Hamas’ military wing and had survived previous elimination attempts (Al Jazeera, January 15, 2026). According to reports, al-Houli, aka Abu Fuad, headed the unit responsible for border security in the Gaza Strip for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Telegram channel al-Nuseirat Camp Mubasher, January 15, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice for Muhammad al-Houli (Facebook page of “Dr. Hamed Maher al-Houli, January 15, 2026). Left: Al-Houli’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, January 17, 2026)

• • The response attacks also eliminated Ashraf Adnan Muhammad al-Khatib, who commanded the rocket and missile array in the central camps’ sector of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Saeed Khaled Ali Abd al-Rahman, who was chief sniper in Hamas’ Deir al-Balah Battalion in the central camps (IDF spokesperson, January 17, 2026). Palestinian media confirmed that Ashraf al-Khatib, a commander in the PIJ’s military wing, was killed in an attack in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp (Shehab Agency, January 15, 2026).

• • On January 16, the Mujahideen Brigades issued a poster of the organization’s fatalities during the war, headed by the organization’s leaders Asad Atiya Abu Sharia and Omar Atiya Abu Sharia. The following day, the organization also issued a poster with three operatives who were killed outside the Gaza Strip, including Ahmed al-Aqabi, an Israeli Bedouin from Hura who carried out the shooting and stabbing attack at the Beersheba central bus station in which a Border Police fighter was killed in October 2024 (Telegram channel of the Mujahideen Brigades, January 16–17, 2026).

     
Right: Death notices for the Mujahideen Brigades terrorist operatives. Left: Death notices for the terrorists killed in Judea and Samaria (Telegram channel of the Mujahideen Brigades, January 16–17, 2026)

• • On January 20, Hamas’ military wing confirmed the death of Muhammad Ali Abu Hussein, aka Abu Hussein, who was military intelligence commander of the Rafah Brigade. He died on December 13, 2025, about ten days after being wounded in an Israeli attack on the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in response to a Hamas ceasefire violation. According to a video issued by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Hussein, 55 years old, joined the military wing at a young age. He was also seen reading his will and photographed with former Rafah Brigade commander Ra’ed al-Attar, eliminated in Operation Protective Edge in August 2014, and former Rafah Brigade commander Muhammad Shabana, eliminated in May 2025 (Telegram channel of the Izz al-Din al- Qassam Brigades, January 20, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice issued for Abu Hussein. Left: Abu Hussein reads his will
(Telegram channel of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, January 20, 2026)

• • On January 21, IDF forces attacked a vehicle belonging to the Egyptian committee operating in the Gaza Strip while it was documenting aid activity and filming refugee camps in the Netzarim area in the central Strip. According to reports, “journalists” Abd al-Raouf Saeed Shaat, Muhammad Salah Qashta and Anas Abdallah Ghneim, who worked with the Egyptian committee and several media outlets, were killed in the attack (Quds Agency and the Hamas government information office in the Strip, January 21, 2026). The spokesman of the Egyptian committee claimed the “Zionists” had targeted the three and stated that they would continue humanitarian work despite the attacks on the teams (al-Aqsa channel, January 21, 2026). The IDF spokesperson responded that several suspects had operated a Hamas UAV in an area, threatening IDF forces, and were attacked following the required chain of authorization (IDF spokesperson, January 21, 2026).

• • On January 30, eight Hamas terrorists were seen exiting a tunnel in eastern Rafah. Three were eliminated and another, a commander in the eastern Rafah Battalion of Hamas’ military wing, was captured (IDF spokesperson, January 30, 2026). Ghassan al-Dahini, head of the Popular Forces militia operating in Rafah under Israeli auspices, said the militia’s counterterrorism department had captured Adham Atallah al-Akar, who commanded a company in Hamas’ military wing and also served as an officer in the Hamas police force (Facebook page of the Popular Forces, January 30, 2026).
  • On January 30–31, in response to Hamas’ ceasefire violation, the IDF attacked commanders and terrorists from Hamas and the PIJ (IDF spokesperson, January 31, 2026). Hamas’ ministry of interior and national security said police officers Rami Riyad al-Mabih, Muhammad Mustafa Kaloub, Nujoud Youssef al-Madhoun, Mahmoud Muhammad Shanar and Riyad Nafez al-Dalu had been killed in an attack on the Sheikh Radwan police station in Gaza City (Telegram channel of Hamas’ Ministry of Interior, January 31, 2026). It was also reported that Nujoud al-Madhoun, head of the women’s police at the station, was killed in the attack (Telegram channel al-Bureij News, January 31, 2026). Another reported fatality was Hamas military wing operative Osama Shareem, son of Taysir Shareem, who headed a section in Hamas’ weapons production headquarters and was eliminated in July 2025 (X account of Jusur News, January 31, 2026, Telegram channel al-Sayyad, January 31, 2026).
  • The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), announced that the “heroic fighter” Hazem Rabhi Hamad Abu Hadid, aka Abu al-Nimr, was killed in an attack on al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis on January 31. He was called “a hero of the commando unit” and a “fierce defender” of the Palestinian people and the Arab nation, and “represented the model of a committed, non-compromising fighter.” It was further noted that he was born in April 1986 to a family of “fighters who raised him on the principles of struggle and revolution,” that he joined the PFLP in 2012 and two years later joined its military wing and participated in the Loyalty to the Martyrs campaign (Operation Protective Edge) in 2014 and the Sword of Jerusalem campaign (Operation Guardian of the Walls) in 2021 until the October 7, 2023 battle (Telegram channel of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, February 8, 2026).

• In January 2026 it was reported that senior terrorist operatives also died of natural causes:
  • On January 16, it was reported that “commander” Ahmed Fakhri Shabir, aka Abu Ratib, military media commander in Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade and one of the founders of the military media array, died of illness (Telegram channel of Jenin refugee camp 24 hours, January 16, 2026).

• • On January 22, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced the death of “the martyr field commander” Rabi’ Jihad Hamad, aka Abu Jihad, who was a commander in the organization’s northern Gaza Brigade and died “of natural causes” on January 15, 2026 (Telegram channel of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, January 22, 2026).

• • On January 24, Hamas announced the death of the “civil commander and Islamic scholar,” Dr. Atta Allah Abu al-Sabah, aka Abu Alaa, a member of the movement’s political bureau, who died at the age of 78. He had been minister of culture and minister for prisoners’ affairs, a scholar, poet and writer and had dedicated his life to the “national cause” and to defending the “Palestinian national project” (Telegram channel of Hamas, January 24, 2026).

Rocket fire^[3]

• in January 2026 no rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Monthly Distribution of Rocket Fire

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

Terrorist Attacks

• During January 2026, there was one terrorist attack (six attacks in December):
• Stabbing attack at the Tunnel Checkpoint: On January 28, Border Police fighters saw a Palestinian suspect who approached the Tunnel Checkpoint connecting Gush Etzion and Jerusalem. During the inspection, the suspect pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the security personnel, who shot and killed him. There were no Israeli casualties (Police spokesperson, January 28, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Qusai Maher Khalayqa, 28 years old, from the town of al-Shuyukh north of Hebron, was killed at the Tunnel Checkpoint (Quds Agency, January 28, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for him, calling him a “shaheed of Palestine,” rather than “the mujahid shaheed” as usually written for the deaths of terrorists who carry out attacks. According to the notice he was killed by “occupation fire” at the Tunnel Checkpoint, “allegedly during an attempt to carry out a stabbing attack” (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, January 28, 2026).

Significant Terrorist Attacks, 2026^[4]

Distribution of Significant Terrorist Attacks over the Past Decade

Counterterrorism

• During January 2026, Israeli security forces continued routine counterterrorism activity throughout Judea and Samaria, including a week-long operation in the Jabal Johar neighborhood in Hebron. Terrorists who threw rocks and Molotov cocktails were eliminated, wanted individuals and suspects involved in terrorist activity and planning attacks were detained, and weapons, explosive devices and lathes were seized, as well as funds intended to finance terrorist activity and incitement. An IDF soldier was wounded by gunfire during an operation in Nablus. The security forces sealed and demolished the homes of attack perpetrators and prevented weapons from being smuggled into Judea and Samaria along the Jordanian border (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, January 1–31, 2026:
  • On January 1, IDF fighters who were lying in ambush on a central route near the village of Lubban al-Sharqiya opened fire at terrorists who threw rocks at them. One of the terrorists was shot and killed (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2026). The Palestinian Authority (PA) general authority for civil affairs reported that Khattab Muhammad Sharhan Daraghmeh, 26 years old, from Lubban al-Sharqiya, was killed by “occupation” fire (Quds Agency, January 1, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the “shaheed of Palestine,” Khattab Muhammad Daraghmeh (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, January 1, 2026).

• • On January 16, IDF forces arrived in the village of al-Mughayyir near Ramallah following a report that terrorists had thrown rocks at Israeli civilians and blocked the access road. Upon arrival the fighters were shot at; no casualties were reported. Dozens of terrorists threw rocks at the fighters and one ran forward carrying a rock. The fighters shot into the air and then shot and killed him (IDF spokesperson, January 16, 2026). Palestinian media reported the death of Muhammad Saad Naasan, 14 years old, in the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah (Quds Agency, January 16, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the “shaheed of Palestine,” Muhammad Naasan (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, January 16, 2026).

• • On January 21, Israeli security forces operating in the village of Shuweika detained the terrorist Fadi Behti, who was a bomb-maker for the terrorist network in Tulkarm (Police spokesperson, IDF spokesperson and Israeli Security Agency spokesperson, January 21, 2026). Palestinian media reported that a special military force had detained the “young” Fadi Jaroun in a raid in the Shuweika neighborhood in northern Tulkarm (Quds Agency, January 17, 2026).
  • On January 27, a terrorist threw a Molotov cocktail at IDF forces operating in the town of al-Zaharia near Hebron; he was shot and killed. The forces also shot at a terrorist who was throwing rocks (IDF spokesperson, January 28, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported the death of Muhammad Raja Nasrallah, 20 years old, after he was wounded by “occupation” fire in the town of al-Zaharia, south of Hebron. He and another young man were reportedly shot during a “raid” on the town, he was hit in the abdomen and evacuated in critical condition to the hospital, where his death was declared (Shehab Agency, January 27, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the “shaheed of Palestine,” Muhammad Raja Nasrallah (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, January 28, 2026).

• During January 2026, security forces also prevented terrorist activity within the State of Israel:
  • On January 8, an indictment was filed for a 15-year-old, a resident of the north, who was detained by the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and Israel Police following suspicion that he had been in contact with terrorist elements. The investigation revealed that he had pledged loyalty to ISIS, and instructions for manufacturing an explosive belt were found in his possession. In contact with elements affiliated with the organization abroad, he prepared himself to carry out an attack. The investigation further revealed that he expressed support for past attacks on the State of Israel and wanted its destruction. He also participated in extremist discourse regarding members of other religions, including Christians and Muslims who did not share his extremist worldview (Telegram channel of the Israel Police spokesperson, January 8, 2026).

• During January 2026, IDF forces continued attacking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement of November 27, 2024, the reconstruction of its military capabilities and the renewal of its arsenal. The attacks were carried out south of the Litani River, despite the Lebanese army’s announcement of the completion of the first stage of the plan to establish the state’s monopoly on weapons,^[5] as well as north of the Litani and in the Beqa’a Valley. Aerial attacks targeted Radwan Force training locations and Hezbollah terrorist operatives, weapons depots above and below ground, many of which were hidden in civilian areas, sites for the production of weapons, launch sites and launchers and other military equipment, and ground forces destroyed structures used by Hezbollah in communities near the border. The forces attacked Hamas military facilities in the Sidon area. According to reports, 19 Hezbollah operatives were eliminated, including operatives engaged in rebuilding facilities, an operative who headed a weapons smuggling network, a liaison in the village of Yanouh and operatives in the artillery array (IDF spokesperson, January 1–31, 2026). Social media accounts and Hezbollah media channels issued notices for the deaths of 16 Hezbollah operatives in Israeli attacks, one of whom belonged to Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization (Telegram channels Balagh and south Lebanon – Watching the Enemy and Lebanese media, January 1–31, 2026):^[6]
  • Rabi’ Muhammad Ali Jaber, aka al-Sheikh Zulfiqar, from al-Nabatieh, resident of Yater.
  • Ali Hussein Rizq, aka Ali Fahed, from Houla. He belonged to Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization.
  • Abbas Hussein Mahmoud, aka Jawad, from Deir Kifa.
  • Muhammad Wasim Faqih, aka Mahdi, an engineer from Kafr Dounine.
  • Hussein Abdi al-Ridha Hamzeh, aka Kamil, a lawyer from al-Jmijma
  • Alaa’ Hussein Hourani, aka Jawad Ali, from al-Tiri, a resident of Bnaafoul.
  • Muhammad Adel al-Saghir, aka Osama, from Bint Jbeil.
  • Walid Hussein Aliq, aka Ali, from Zotar al-Sharqiyah.
  • Muhammad Baker Youssef Awadheh, aka Jaafar, from al-Sharqiyah.
  • Al-Hajj Ahmed Hussein Salami, aka Abu Ali, from Yanouh, resident of al-Bazouriyeh.
  • Muhammad Ali Zreik, aka Abu Hassan, from al-Khiam.
  • Jawad Rassin Basma, aka Amir, from al-Bazouriyeh.
  • Muhammad Hadi al-Husseini, aka Abu Zainab, from Arzon.
  • Sheikh Ali Abd al-Hassan Nur al-Din, aka al-Sheikh Amin, from Jouaiyya.
  • Samer Alaa’ Khatit, from al-Dweir (no Hezbollah notice was issued).
  • Ahmed Abd al-Nabi Ramadan, from al-Dweir, an Egyptian citizen (no Hezbollah notice was issued).
  • Hussein Ahmed al-Mardina, aka Sha‘er, from al-Sha’itiya.
  • Muhammad Ahmed Youssef, aka Patras, from Riyaq in the Beqa’a Valley, resident of Siddiqine.
  • Ahmed Hassan Faqih, aka Sadiq, from Rab Thalathin.

• Syrian media outlets reported “incursions” by “Israeli occupation forces” into villages in the rural areas of the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, the establishment of checkpoints and the detention of residents, as well as several incidents of artillery fire in various areas in southern Syria (SANA, the Syrian Arab News Agency and the Syrian Observatory, January 1–31, 2026).

• During January 2026, the Houthis did not attack Israeli territory or vessels, following their policy since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2025. However, senior Houthi officials threatened to renew the attacks if there were Israeli “violations” of the ceasefire or if fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed. In addition, they threatened to attack Israel in response to IDF activity against Hezbollah, to attack Israeli targets in response to the recognition of Somaliland’s independence,^[7] and to resume their offensive activity on vessels if the United States attacked Iran.^[8]

• On January 27, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service revealed that three suspects, citizens of the country, were arrested on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack on a foreign embassy in Baku due to “religious hostility.” According to the statement, the suspects, Guliyev Ilgar Ilham Oglu, 26 years old, aka Abu Zar al-Muhajir; Piriyev Amin Elshad Oglu, 20 years old, aka Abdu Rashid; and Alizada Elvin Sanan Oglu, 20 years old, aka Abdu Rahman al-Azeri, established criminal ties with ISIS’s Khorasan Province branch, which operates in Central Asia, and obtained means intended to be used as weapons to carry out the attack, but were arrested by security agents near the embassy (Azerbaijan State Security Service website, January 27, 2026). Israeli media reported that the attack had been planned on the Israeli Embassy in Baku and that the arrest had taken place several months earlier (Israeli media, January 27, 2026).