Spotlight on Terrorism – May 2026

Hezbollah^[3]

• During May 2026, IDF forces continued activity in the forward defense line area in south Lebanon (the Yellow Line), located and destroyed terrorist infrastructure and weapons (some of which were hidden in civilian buildings), and eliminated terrorists who approached the forces, attempted to attack or attempted to approach the border fence. Because of the increase in exploding drone attacks, including into Israeli territory, the IDF expanded the maneuver and advanced north of the Litani River and took control of the Beaufort Castle (Qal’at al-Shaqif) for the first time since the IDF’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. The IDF attacked rocket launchers, buildings used for military purposes and Hezbollah military facilities and assets in other areas of south Lebanon and the Beqa’a Valley, mainly in the Tyre and Nabatieh region.^[4] Two targeted strikes in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut eliminated commanders. Eight IDF soldiers were killed, three of them, including a female soldier, by exploding drones inside Israeli territory (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, May 1-31, 2026).
• During May 2026, despite the alleged “ceasefire” that began on April 17, 2026, Hezbollah continued attacking Israeli targets in south Lebanon and northern Israel. The organization issued 613 claims of responsibility for attacks, compared to 692 the previous month, the overwhelming majority targeting IDF forces in south Lebanon, as well as against military and security targets in northern Israel. The attacks employed exploding drones (212 claims), standard UAVs, rockets, mortar shells, anti-tank missiles, artillery shells and anti-aircraft fire, and included exchanges of fire with IDF forces in south Lebanon. In light of the IDF penetration north of the Litani River and because of the expansion of the strikes in south Lebanon and other areas, Hezbollah increased its attacks into northern Israel beyond the border area, including rocket fire at Safed, Acre and the Krayot areas near Haifa (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, May 1-31, 2026).

• Throughout May 2026, Hezbollah did not formally issue the names and positions of senior figures and operatives who were killed in IDF strikes. However, social media accounts, including unofficial accounts affiliated with Hezbollah, posted the photographs and names of more than 700 commanders of various ranks and operatives in the different units, when some of the notices were official and bore the Hezbollah emblem (such as the X account of Qalaat al Mudiq, Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field and Facebook page South Lebanon, May 1-31, 2026):
  • On May 6, Ahmed Ghaleb Ballout, commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was eliminated in a strike in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut. He had had a series of roles in the Radwan Force over the years, including operations commander, and was responsible for the unit’s fighting preparedness and readiness. During the hostilities against Israel he directed the unit’s terrorists and commanded dozens of attacks on IDF forces in south Lebanon, among them anti-tank missile fire and the activation of explosive devices. He also promoted the reconstruction of the Radwan Force’s military capabilities, particularly the implementation of its so-called Galilee Conquest Plan (IDF spokesperson, May 7, 2026). Websites affiliated with Hezbollah reported the death of Ahmed Ghaleb Ballout, aka Malik, in a strike in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia (Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field, May 10, 2026; Facebook page of South Lebanon, May 11, 2026).

• • On May 7, the IDF spokesperson reported that since the beginning of the April 17 ceasefire various senior Hezbollah commanders had been eliminated, including Muhammad Ali Bazzi, who commanded the intelligence department of the Nasr Unit in recent years; and Hussein Hassan Roumani, who was responsible for aerial defense (IDF spokesperson, May 7, 2026). On April 30, it was reported that Hussein Hassan Roumani, from Deir al-Zahrani, was killed in a strike in Nabatieh (Facebook page of journalist Layla Farhat, April 30, 2026; Facebook page of Deir al-Zahrani, April 30, 2026). On May 2, the death of Mahdi Muhammad Ali Bazzi from Bint Jbeil was reported (Facebook page of News of the South, May 2, 2026).

    
Right: Roumani (Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field, April 30, 2026).
Left: Bazzi (Facebook page of News of the South, May 2, 2026)

• • On May 15, the Imam al-Mahdi Scouts, Hezbollah’s scouting movement,^[5] announced that its secretary general, Hajj Jafar Muhammad Nasr, had died in an Israeli strike on the civil defense center of the Islamic Health Organization, which also belongs to Hezbollah.^[6] According to the announcement, Nasr had “dedicated his life to service and humanitarian work and was an example of a beloved and helpful leader who was always present among his scouts with love, fatherly concern and sincerity” (website of the Imam al-Mahdi Scouts, May 15, 2026). Nasr was reportedly killed together with two others in a strike on the civil defense center in the town of Harouf (Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field, May 15, 2026).

• • On May 16, the municipality of Aitaroun announced the death of the former mayor and current council member, engineer Hajj Haidar Mouassi (Facebook page of Ya Sour, May 16, 2026). On Hezbollah-affiliated media accounts, a death notice was issued for “the commander, engineer Hajj Haidar Abd al-Hassan Mouassi, al-Hajj Jad” (X account of Diaa’ Abu Taam, May 17, 2026). The administration of Markad al-Sayyid (“the shrine of the master,” the tomb of former Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah) said Haidar Abd al-Hassan Mouassi had been involved in establishing the complex and contributed to its management (X account of Markad al-Sayyid, May 21, 2026).

     
Death notices issued for Mouassi (Right: X account of Diaa’ Abu Taam, May 17, 2026; X account of Markad al-Sayyid, May 21, 2026)

• • On May 28, the IDF announced the eliminations of senior Hezbollah field commanders in strikes in south Lebanon during the month, including the commander of the al-Khiyam sector, the assistant deputy commander of the Badr Unit, the intelligence officer of the Shaqif sector, the engineering officer of the Yahmar sector, the deputy engineering officer of the Yahmar sector, the commander of the Jibshit sector and the engineering officer of the Jouaiya sector (IDF spokesperson, May 28, 2026).
  • On May 31, Muhammad Musa Matirak, a unit commander in Hezbollah’s missile array, was eliminated in a strike in the Nabatieh area. He had held a variety of positions in Hezbollah’s missile array over the years and was responsible for hundreds of rocket and UAV attacks targeting Israeli civilians and IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, June 1, 2026).

The Imam Hussein Division^[7]

• On May 28, the IDF targeted a residential apartment in the al-Janaha al-Khamseh area of the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia to eliminate Ali al-Husseini, responsible for the missile array in the Imam Hussein Division (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, May 28, 2026). His death was not verified. The Lebanese ministry of health reported that a woman and two children were killed in the strike and that 15 other people were wounded (al-Akhbar and al-Manar, May 28, 2026).

Amal

• During May 2026, Amal announced the deaths of at least 47 movement operatives in IDF strikes, among them “medics” and operatives in its scouting movement, as well as women and children who belonged to the movement. None of the dead was referred to as a jihad fighter (Telegram channel of the Amal Movement and X account of Amal’s central information office, April 1-30, 2026).

Palestinian Terrorists Eliminated in Lebanon

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

• On May 7, Hassan Khaled Abu Nasser, a resident of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, was reported killed during the fighting against the “Israeli occupation” in south Lebanon (Palestinian Refugees Forum, May 7, 2026). The PIJ’s military wing announced the death of the shaheed Hassan Khaled Abu Nasser, aka Abu Khalil, 25, who belonged to the Muhammad al-Majdhoub Battalion in the Lebanon arena. He was reportedly killed “at the border of occupied Palestine, while participating in repelling the aggression against Lebanon” (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 8, 2026).

• On the night of May 17, Wael Mahmoud Abd al-Halim, PIJ commander of the Beqa’a Valley region, was eliminated in a strike in Baalbek in the Beqa’a Valley. He led the PIJ terrorist operatives who fought alongside Hezbollah and promoted terrorist activity against IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, May 18, 2026). He was reportedly killed with his daughter in a strike on the family house near the al-Jalil refugee camp in Baalbek (Lebanese News Agency and Al Jazeera, May 18, 2026). The PIJ military wing announced that the “commander shaheed” Wael Mahmoud Abd al-Halim, aka Abu Osama, 54, a commander in the Jerusalem Brigades in the Lebanon arena, was killed in a “Zionist attack” on his house. He reportedly had “a long journey in the confrontation with the Zionist entity” (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 18, 2026).

     
Right: Abd al-Halim’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, May 18, 2026). Left: Death notice issued by the Jerusalem Brigades for Abd al-Halim (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 18, 2026)

Other Palestinians

• On May 3, Hassan Dawoud Khdeir from the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp was killed in south Lebanon. The Ghobeiry municipality in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia stated that Khdeir was one of its employ ees (Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 3, 2026).

• On May 4, Khaled Abd al-Halim, born in 1979, from the al-Burj al-Shamali Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre, was reported killed in the fighting in south Lebanon. He came from a refugee family from the village of al-Na’ama in “northern occupied Palestine” and reportedly operated a small shop in the refugee camp (Facebook page of the Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 4, 2026). According to the death notice Hezbollah issued for him, the “mujahid shaheed, Khaled Hassan al-Halim, aka Abu al-Hadi, was killed “in defense of Lebanon and its people” (Telegram channel Hezbollah in the Field, May 4, 2026).

• On May 7, Tareq Ziyad al-Yousef and Lu’ay Nimer Muqbel from the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp were killed in an Israeli strike while riding on a motorcycle on the Ain Baal road in the Tyre area (Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 7, 2026).

• On May 8, it was reported that Muhammad Fathi Badawi from the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp was killed “alongside his brothers in the south” (Ya Sour, May 8, 2026).

• On May 22, the “medic” Yazan Nours Saeed, a Palestinian-Syrian from the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp in Tyre, was killed in an Israeli strike on “medics” in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in south Lebanon (Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 22, 2026). Hezbollah-affiliated accounts reported the death of the “mujahid” Yazan Nours Saeed, aka Abu Ali, from Burj al-Shamali (Telegram channel of Hezbollah in the Field, May 23, 2026).

• On May 23, Maher Yousef Suleiman, aka Abu Adam, from the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp, was reportedly killed in an airstrike on a workshop in the town of al-Bazouriya and four other workers were wounded (Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 23, 2026).

• On May 24, it was reported that Maher Khalil Ibrahim from the Burj al-Shamali camp was killed during the fighting against the “occupation forces” in south Lebanon (Palestinian Refugees Portal, May 24, 2026).

• On May 27, Sheikh Hisham Qandas, a member of the camp’s charity committee, was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike on the al-Bass Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre. He was a refugee from the town of al-Zib (today Achziv in northern Israel). Two Lebanese civilians were also killed, one of whom was Qandas’ son-in-law, an Amal terrorist operative (Palestinian Refugees Portal and X account of Yasser Ali, May 27, 2026; X account of the Amal Movement, May 28, 2026).

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya^[8]

• On May 23, an Israeli airstrike reportedly hit the house of Tareq Faraj in the town of al-Rafid in the western Beqa’a Valley, killing his son, Obada Tareq Faraj, an operative in al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Lebanon Debate, May 23, 2026). Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya and its military wing, the al-Fajr Forces, announced the death of the “engineer shaheed,” Obada Tareq Faraj, in a “Zionist airstrike” (X account of Omar al-Hanafi al-Thani, May 23, 2026). In January 2026, Faraj and his father were arrested in Jordan by the security services after they returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca (X account of Dr. Abd al-Rahman al-Kassar, January 11, 2026).

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party^[9]

• On May 1, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party reported that the “comrade shaheed, Ali Malik Hamza,” was killed with his father and two brothers by the “Jewish aggression” in the al-Hamza neighborhood in Nabatieh, during “their resistance” with local residents on May 1, 2026; he joined the party ranks in March 1998 (party website, May 1, 2026).

The Israeli Security Forces

• During May 2026 IDF forces continued locating and destroying terrorist infrastructure, facilities and assets in the Yellow Line (the territory under IDF control) in the Gaza Strip. They eliminated terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line or posed a threat, and attacked and eliminated terrorists in various areas in the Strip after identifying hostile intentions, and eliminated commanders in the Hamas military wing (IDF spokesperson, May 1-31, 2026):
  • On May 3, a terrorist from the Hamas Beit Lahia Battalion was eliminated after approaching IDF forces in the Yellow Line area in a manner that posed an immediate threat. Intelligence information revealed that throughout the war he had fired rockets at the territory of the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, May 4, 2026).
  • On May 4, Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamad, a Hamas nukhba commander, was eliminated in a strike in the center of the Gaza Strip. He participated in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre. He was eliminated because he posed an immediate threat to IDF forces in the Strip (IDF spokesperson, May 5, 2026). According to reports, was killed and two people were wounded when an Israeli UAV attacked a group in the al-Bureij refugee camp (Quds Agency and the Telegram  channel of Hamza al-Masri, May 4, 2026).

• • On May 6, one dead and ten wounded were reported in a strike near the Jabalia bus station in the al-Daraj neighborhood in east Gaza City. The terrorist killed was Hamza al-Sharbasi, a field commander in Hamas’ military wing in al-Shuja’iya, and one of the wounded was Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, son of Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ political bureau and who heads the movement’s negotiating team (Shehab Agency and Quds Agency, May 6, 2026; al-Sharq al-Awsat, May 7, 2026). Al-Hayya died the following day (Quds Agency, May 7, 2026). Khalil al-Hayya, a fourth son to be killed in Israeli strikes, thanked “Allah, who gave me the honor of the martyrdom” of his son Azzam. He claimed it was a continuation of the attack on the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar in September 2025, in which another of his sons was killed (Hamas Telegram channel, May 7, 2026). Hamas said the “Zionist crime” of attacking Azzam al-Hayya continued the “occupation policy” of targeting civilians and the families of Palestinian leaders (Hamas Telegram channel, May 7, 2026). Death notices on channels affiliated with the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that Azzam Khalil al-Hayya was a member of the military wing (Telegram channels of Tufan al-Aqsa and Halat Qassamiya, May 7, 2026). The IDF spokesperson stated that Azzam al-Hayya held a key position in a Hamas nukhba unit. As for al-Sharbasi, he was a commander in the Hamas al-Shuja’iya Battalion who participated in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre and was among the terrorists who raided the Nahal Oz base, where IDF soldiers were slaughtered and abducted. According to the IDF, al-Sharbasi recently operated near the Yellow Line and promoted terrorist attacks on IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, May    13, 2026).

• • On May 12, Abd al-Rahman Muhammad al-Sha’afi was eliminated in a UAV strike east of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. He was related to Ayman Nofal, commander of the Central Brigades in the Hamas military wing who was eliminated in October 2023 (Ultra Palestine, May 12, 2026). The IDF confirmed that Abd al-Rahman Mahmoud Jum’a Sha’afi, a terrorist in the Hamas al-Bureij Battalion who promoted terrorist attacks on IDF forces, had been eliminated (IDF spokesperson, May 16, 2026).

• • On May 15, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, head of Hamas’ military wing and one of the planners of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre and who led Hamas’ reconstruction after the ceasefire, was eliminated in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City. Hamas confirmed al-Haddad’s death, calling him “the great commander” who had been involved in jihad for decades, and whose career culminated in the “invasion into Israeli territory.” He joined Hamas at the age of 17 with the establishment of the movement and advanced through the ranks of the military wing, filling a series of command positions. He was appointed commander of the Gaza Brigade in 2021 and received command of the military wing after the elimination of Muhammad al-Sinwar in May 2025. He played a significant role in the preparations for the October 7 terrorist attack and massacre, and in an order he gave to his operatives ahead of the attack, which was discovered by IDF forces during the war in the Gaza Strip, he emphasized that the primary objective was “to take captive a large number of soldiers in the first moments and send them into the Gaza Strip.” During the war, he held Israeli hostages around him as human shields.^[10]

      
Right: al-Haddad’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, May 16, 2026). Left: Death notice issued by Hamas’ military wing for al-Haddad (Telegram channel of the al-Qassam Brigades, May 16, 2026)

• • On May 16, Tamer Iyad Muhammad al-Matouq and Khaled Muhammad Salem Jouda were reported eliminated that in two separate strikes in the northern Gaza Strip. They were Hamas terrorists who had participated in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. They attempted to carry out terrorist activity against IDF forces and were eliminated in precise strikes because they posed an immediate threat to the forces (IDF spokesperson, May 16, 2026). On May 6, it was reported that Khaled Muhammad Salem Jouda died of his wounds after he had been wounded in an Israeli strike several days earlier (Shehab Agency, May 6, 2026). On May 14, it was reported that Tamer Iyad al-Matouq was killed with another person in a strike in the al-Qasasib neighborhood in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Strip, several days after his father had also been killed in a strike in the refugee camp (Shehab Agency, May 14, 2026).

    
Right: Jouda. Left: al-Matouq (X account of Qadeyah1, May 6 and 14, 2026)

• • On May 16, Bahaa Baroud, a commander in Hamas’ operations headquarters, was eliminated in a targeted attack. Throughout the war, and especially recently, he planned and promoted terrorist attacks on IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip and civilians of the State of Israel, and was eliminated because he posed an immediate threat (IDF spokesperson, May 17, 2026). Reportedly, “engineer ” Bahaa Zaki Salman Baroud, 41, and Abd al-Karim Nassar were killed in a strike on a vehicle near al-Wahda Tower in western Gaza City (Shehab Agency and the Telegram channel of Hamza al-Masri, May 16, 2026).

• • On May 22, Lu’ay Hisham Mahmoud Bassal, 27, was eliminated. He was a sniper in the Hamas al-Zeitoun Battalion and posed an immediate threat because of his attempts to attack IDF forces in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, he participated in the raid on the Zikim base during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, May 24, 2026). He was reportedly killed in an airstrike near al-Sham’a Mosque in east Gaza City (Quds Agency, May 22, 2026). Four of his brothers were killed in an airstrike in September 2024 (X account of Hazem, May 24, 2026).

• • On May 24, Muhammad Abu Mallouh, an operative in Hamas’ production headquarters center, was eliminated in a strike in the center of the Gaza Strip. During the ceasefire agreement he manufactured weapons which posed a threat to IDF forces in the Gaza Strip and to civilians of the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, May 25, 2026). Three people were reportedly killed and three others wounded in a strike on an apartment of the Abu Mallouh family near the al-Balat market in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp. It was later reported that Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Mallouh, 38, was killed in the strike with his wife and son (Telegram channel of Hamza al-Masri, May 24, 2026).

• • On May 26, Ihab Khrizam, who headed an important Hamas financial transfer network, was eliminated in a strike in Khan Yunis. He was responsible for managing the transfer of millions of dollars to Hamas’ military wing, and enabled the wing to promote and carry out attacks on IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip and civilians of the State of Israel. Muhammad al-Habbash, head of a unit in Hamas’ production headquarters and involved in manufacturing weapons during the war, was also eliminated (IDF spokesperson, May 28, 2026). According to reports, two people were killed and others wounded in a strike on a vehicle in Abu Alaa’ Square in western Khan Yunis. The fatalities were Muhammad Sa’id al-Habbash, aka Abu Mughad, and Ihab Issa Khrizam, aka Abu Issa (Shehab Agency and X account of Sahat [Squares], May 26, 2026).

• • On May 26, 2026, Muhammad Odeh, head of Hamas’ military intelligence who was appointed head of the military wing after the elimination of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was eliminated in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City. Odeh, considered a secretive figure, filled various positions in the military wing, including command of the Northern Brigade, and was considered a key figure in developing the movement’s intelligence capabilities. In preparation for the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre, he monitored the weaknesses of the IDF Gaza Division. Hamas and the military wing confirmed the death of the “great commander,” noting his many years of “activity” in the al-Qassam Brigades, which culminated in the “invasion” of Israeli territory. They said his death would serve as an incentive for continuing the “resistance.”^[11]

    
Right: Odeh’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, May 27, 2026). Left: Death notice issued by the Hamas military wing for Odeh (Telegram channel of the al-Qassam Brigades, May 27, 2026)

• • On May 27, Imad Hassan Hussein Aslim, deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade and commander of the al-Zeitoun Battalion in Hamas’ military wing, was eliminated in a strike in Gaza. He commanded raids of battalion terrorists into Israeli territory during the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre, promoted dozens of terrorist attacks on IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip and posed an immediate threat. According to the IDF, another Hamas commander was present at the location and the IDF is examining whether he was affected (IDF spokesperson, May 29, 2026). The strike was also reportedly meant to eliminate Izz al-Din al-Bikh, commander of the Izz al-Din Brigades’ Northern Strip Brigade (Israeli media, May 27, 2026). Palestinian media reported that Israeli fighter jets attacked an apartment building on Omar al-Mukhtar Street in Gaza City, and the Palestinian Red Crescent evacuated ten fatalities from the scene, among them women and children, more than 20 wounded. One of the fatalities was reportedly “commander” Imad Hassan Aslim (Shehab Agency and the Palestinian Media Center, May 27-28, 2026). Hamas-affiliated channels reported that the “great commander,” Imad Hassan Aslim, aka Abu Hassan, deputy commander of Gaza Brigade and commander of the al-Zeitoun Battalion, had died. He was considered a “prominent Izz al-Din Brigades field commander” with many years of confronting the “occupation,” and had previously survived five attempts to eliminate him (Telegram channel of al-Sayyad and Shehab Agency, May 28, 2026). Three sources in Hamas stated that al-Bikh had been wounded in the strike, but another source claimed that al-Bikh was not present at the scene of the attack and had survived (al-Sharq al-Awsat, May 28, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice issued for Aslim (Telegram channel of Halat Qassamiya, May 28, 2026). Left: Aslim with Yahya al-Sinwar (Telegram channel of al-Sayyad, May 28, 2026)

• • On May 29, one dead and several wounded were reported in a strike by an Israeli UAV on a group of “local residents” in al-Shawa Square in Gaza City. The fatality was reportedly Ahmed Ali Hallas (Shehab Agency, May 29, 2026). The PIJ’s military wing announced the death of the “mujahid” Ahmed Ali Hhallas, from the Gaza Brigade of the Jerusalem Brigades (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 31, 2026). The IDF spokesperson reported that Ahmed Ali Abd al-Rahim Hallas was a sniper platoon commander in the PIJ and promoted sniper attacks targeting IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, June 2, 2026).

• • On May 29, the death of “young” Salem Zuhri Qariqa, a civil defense operative, was reported and several additional Palestinians were reported wounded in a strike on a house courtyard at the junction of the al-Mira neighborhood in western Gaza City (Shehab Agency, May 29-30, 2026). Salem Zuhdi Qariqa, aka al-Mutaz, was the son of Faiz Hamed Qariqa,^[12] who was among the initiators of the first intifada and was killed in battle against Israeli security forces in the al-Shuja’iya battle in October 1987 (Telegram channel of al-Sayyad, May 29, 2026; al-Risalah, May 30, 2026). The IDF spokesperson stated that Salem Zuhdi Qariqa was an operative in the Hamas al-Shuja’iya Battalion and was involved in preparing explosive materials and advancingsniper attacks on IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, June 2, 2026).

     
Right: “Young” Qariqa (Telegram channel of al-Sayyad, May 29, 2026). Left: Qariqa’s father (second from left) with the other terrorists eliminated in the battle in al-Shuja’iya in 1987 (Palestine Today, October 6, 2022)

• • On May 30, Jamal Abu Aoun, a platoon commander in Hamas’ military wing who simultaneously worked as a physician at Yaffa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, was eliminated in a strike in the central Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, Abu Aoun commanded Hamas terrorists and promoted and planned terrorist attacks on IDF forces and the State of Israel, and was recently involved in advancing Hamas’ military buildup, efforts to reconstruct and strengthen Hamas’ military wing, contrary to the ceasefire agreement (IDF spokesperson, June 1, 2026). Jamal Abu Aoun, head of the anesthesia department at Yaffa Hospital, was reportedly killed in the strike in Deir al-Balah (Quds Agency, May 30, 2026).

• • On May 31, it was reported that “local resident” Sa’id Faiz Shamali died of wounds incurred the previous day in an Israeli strike in the Firas market area in the center of Gaza City (Quds Agency, May 31, 2026). The IDF spokesperson reported that Sa’id Faiz Sa’id Shamali was a nukhba team commander in Hamas (IDF spokesperson, June 2, 2026).
  • During May 2026, the PIJ’s military wing issued the names of 142 “military commanders” who were killed during the war and ceasefire. They belonged to various units of the Jerusalem Brigades, including rockets, “special forces” (the equivalent of the Hamas nukhba units), intelligence, engineering, combat information, training, security, recruitment, finance, ambulances, military industries and assistance. Among the eliminated officers were Tariq Ibrahim Aslim, commander of the communications corps of the Gaza Brigade; deputy commander of the al-Zeitoun Battalion, Abd al-Hakim Ashour Badawi; commander of the artillery unit of the Central Gaza Strip Brigade, Yousef Awni Khattab; and commander of the sniper unit of the central brigade, Salah Shaban Isma’il. The military wing confirmed that Hussam Manal al-Dabbaka, who was killed on August 22, 2024 and was represented as a “journalist,” was a cell commander in the central combat information unit of the Central Brigade^[13] (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 1-31, 2026). The publication also exposed the doble identity of Mahmoud Muhammad Rasras, killed on June 17, 2025. The NGO American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) announced had been the organization’s psychological aid coordinator in the Strip (Anera Facebook page, June 19, 2025). However, according to the PIJ’s lists, he was a cell commander in the SIGINT unit of the Rafah Brigade (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 25,  2026).

Rocket fire^[14]

• In May 2026, no rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory.

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

Terrorist Attacks

• During May 2026 there was one terrorist attack, compared to two in the previous month, and the suspicion that the double murder of an Israeli couple was a nationalist-motivated attack was investigated:
  • Vehicular ramming in Gush Etzion: On May 31, a Palestinian terrorist wounded three Israeli civilians in a vehicular ramming at the Gush Etzion Junction. One of the victims was an Israeli girl who was left in critical condition. An IDF soldier shot and killed the terrorist (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, May 31, 2026). According to reports, Amjad Jawad Abd al-Fattah Natsha, 31, was killed after carrying out a vehicular ramming at the Gush Etzion Junction near Bethlehem (Quds Agency, May 31, 2026). Hamas praised the “heroic operation” and mourned the death of the “heroic shaheed,” Amjad Jawad Abd al-Fattah Natsha from Hebron. Hamas reiterated that it would continue the path of “resistance, steadfastness and sacrifice”^[15] until “freedom and liberation from the occupation” (Hamas Telegram channel, May 31, 2026). The PIJ’s military wing praised the “heroic operation” and claimed the “rebel shaheed,” Amjad Jawad al-Natsha, was a hero of Khalil al-Rahman [a terrorist network which also claimed responsibility for a combined attack in Ra’anana in January 2024]. The statement called on all “the revolutionaries and heroes” in all the communities in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem to “escalate the confrontation with the Zionist enemy forces and its settler gangs by all available means” (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 31, 2026).

     
Right: Death notice issued by the PIJ for al-Natsha death (Telegram channel of the Jerusalem Brigades, May 31, 2026). Left: Hamas death notice (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, May 31, 2026)

• • Suspicion of a nationalist-motivated double murder in south-central Israel: On May 22, the bodies of a two Israeli citizens were found in a vehicle in an open area near Mishmar Ayalon in the Judean foothills. The initial suspicions were of a murder-suicide or a crime-related murder, but several days later a 17 year-old Israeli Arab was detained on suspicion of committing a nationalist-motivated murder. His brother carried out a vehicular ramming in the Glilot area in October 2024. His father, three of his brothers and a “Palestinian youth” were also detained on suspicion of involvement in the double murder (Israeli media, May 23 and May 28-29, 2026).^[16]

Significant Terrorist Attacks, 2026^[17]

Annual Distribution of Significant Terrorist Attacks

Counterterrorism

• During May 2026, the Israeli security forces continued routine counterterrorism activity throughout Judea and Samaria, eliminating terrorists who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices, and detaining hundreds of wanted persons and suspects involved in terrorist activity, in planning and carrying out attacks and in the manufacture and trafficking of weapons. Weapons, explosive devices and lathes were seized, as were printed incitement materials and funds for financing terrorist activity. The security forces prevented weapons from being smuggled into Israeli along the Jordanian and Egyptian borders (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, May 1-31, 2026):
  • On May 3, terrorists threw rocks at IDF forces engaged in operational activity in Nablus. The soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and later shot at the rioters who posed a threat to the forces (IDF spokesperson, May 3, 2026). According to the ministry of health in Ramallah, Naif Firas Ziyad Samaro, 24, was killed and four others were wounded by live fire during a “raid by occupation forces” in Nablus (Quds Agency, May 3, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the “shaheed of Palestine,” Naif Firas Samaro, in Nablus (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, May 3, 2026).
  • On May 5 and 6, Israeli security forces detained three Palestinians from Bethlehem aged 13-18 on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at the Tunnel Road to Jerusalem. The investigation revealed that on April 29, 2026 and on two other occasions, the three rented electric scooters, took Molotov cocktails to the Bayt Jala region and threw the Molotov cocktails and rocks over the wall above the Tunnel Road. There were no casualties (Israel Police spokesperson, May 7, 2026).

• • According to a report issued on May 7, at the beginning of the week of May 3 Israeli security forces operated in Dura and Deir al-Assal in the Hebron area to detain terrorist operatives planning to carry out attacks in the immediate future. One of the suspects, who surrendered to the forces, was a Palestinian Authority policeman, while another suspect was an ISIS operative (Israel Police spokesperson, May 7, 2026). Five people were reportedly detained by the Israeli security forces in the town of Deir Samit, near Dura, and two of them were later released (Quds Agency, May 4, 2026).
  • On May 7, the Israeli security forces operated in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus and detained a suspect who was planning to carry out an attack. He had previously been imprisoned for terrorist activity (Israel Police spokesperson, May 7, 2026). Palestinian media reported that the released prisoner, Ali al-Masimi, was detained in the New Askar refugee camp east of Nablus (Sunud Agency and the Palestine Post, May 7, 2026).

• • According to a report issued on May 10, during the previous week the Israeli security forces detained two wanted persons suspected of terrorist activity in the village of Burqin. One admitted that he had hidden explosive devices in his home meant for attacking the security forces. The explosive devices, which were concealed inside fire extinguishers and gas canisters, were located and destroyed by police demolitions experts (Israel Police X account, May 10, 2026).
  • On May 11, the Israeli security forces began operational activity in the Qalandia refugee camp and the village of Kafr Aqab. A Palestinian terrorist emerged from a vehicle and shot at the soldiers with an M-16 rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. He was shot and killed; there were no casualties (IDF and Israel Police spokespersons, May 11, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah stated that Ayman Rafiq Muhammad al-Hashlamoun, 30, was killed by “occupation bullets” in the Qalandia refugee camp (Quds Agency, May 11, 2026). Hamas praised the “heroic operation” and the exchange of fire with the “occupation forces” in the Qalandia camp and praised Ayman al-Hashlamoun’s “courage.” Hamas claimed the operation reflected the “spirit of resistance and steadfastness and the determination of the Palestinian people to confront the aggression of the occupation, the invasions and the continuing events in Gaza” (Telegram channel of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, May 11, 2026). Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida claimed the shooting in Qalandia and a previous stabbing in Silwad reflected the strength of the people and their “opposition to injustice.” He called on Palestinian youths to “resist”^[18] and know that their “sticks and knives” were as effective as rockets (Telegram channel of Abu Obeida, May 11, 2026).

• • On May 14, the Israeli security forces operating in the Abu Tor neighborhood of east Jerusalem detained a wanted Palestinian suspected of planning to carry out an attack during Jerusalem Day events (Police spokesperson, May 14, 2026).
  • On May 14, IDF soldiers engaged in operational activity in the village of al-Lubban al-Sharqiya identified three Palestinian terrorists throwing rocks at vehicles on a main road. The soldiers shot at the terrorists, killing one. Another was wounded and the forces conducted a manhunt for the third (IDF spokesperson, May 15, 2026). The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Fahd Zidan Oweiss, 15, was killed by “occupation fire” in al-Lubban al-Sharqiya (Quds Agency, May 14-15, 2026).

• • The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Nur al-Din Kamal Hassan Fayyad, 34, was killed by ” occupation fire” in the Jenin refugee camp (Quds Agency, May 16, 2026). The Israeli security forces reportedly raided Fayyad’s family home in the town of Burqin (Shehab Agency, May 16, 2026).

• • On May 19, the Israeli security forces detained a 17 year-old Palestinian from the Aida refugee camp on suspicion of throwing explosive devices at the Tomb of Rachel compound a week earlier (Police spokesperson, May 19, 2026). Local sources reported that “occupation forces” detained the youth Musab Ishaq Alian during a “raid on the Aida refugee camp” north of Bethlehem (Quds Agency, May 19, 2026).
  • On May 19, the Israeli security forces detained a wanted person belonging to the Tanzim^[19] at a café in Qalqilya; he was suspected of terrorist activity (Police spokesperson and IDF spokespersons, May 20, 2026). Local sources stated that Ahmed Abu Labda, a released prisoner, was detained after a special unit infiltrated a café in Qalqilya (Quds Agency, May 19, 2026).
  • On May 20, three terrorists belonging to a Hamas-affiliated network who planned to carry out a shooting in the immediate future were detained in Hebron (IDF spokesperson, May 21, 2026).
  • On May 20, a terrorist who attempting to establish a terrorist network was detained in Deir al-Ghusun (IDF spokesperson, May 21, 2026). According to a report, Israeli special force detained Mahmoud Abdallah Abu Shakra from Deir al-Ghusun north of Tulkarm (Shehab Agency, May 20, 2026).
  • On May 26, during Israeli security force operational activity in the Jenin refugee camp, a terrorist infiltrated the area and threw rocks at the forces. He was shot and killed; there were no casualties (IDF spokesperson, May 26, 2026). The Palestinian Red Crescent reported one fatality from gunfire in the Jenin refugee camp. Reportedly, the fatality was Nasser Ali Kamal al-Saadi, 30 (Palestinian Media Center, May 26, 2026).
  • On May 26, Israeli security forces operating in Qalqilya detained Shadi Jumaa, a terrorist who participated in the shooting in the village of Funduq which killed an Israeli civilian in November 2007. Jumaa was detained shortly after was released by the Palestinian Authority, which had kept him since the attack (IDF, Israeli Security Agency and Israel Police spokespersons, May 26, 2026). Jumaa, from Kafr Qaddum, was reportedly detained by the occupation forces near the zoo in Qalqilya (Qalqilya al-Hadath Telegram channel, May 26, 2026). Several days earlier, according to a report, “occupation forces” detained Jumaa’s brothers in Kafr Qaddum (Palestinian Media Center, May 17, 2026).

• • On May 26, Israeli security forces operating in Hebron detained a suspect involved in weapons trafficking and terrorist activity (Israel Police spokesperson, May 27, 2026).
  • On the night of May 27, Israeli security forces operating in Nablus detained two terrorists who planned to carry out an attack in the immediate future. The two hid in a building in the city and surrendered themselves to the soldiers after negotiations (IDF and Israel Police spokespersons, May 28, 2026).
  • On May 28, it was reported that during the previous two days the Israeli security forces had detained five terrorists in three operations in Judea and Samaria. In Jenin, a terrorist who planned to carry out an attack in the immediate future was detained; in the village of Sida north of Tulkarm, a Hamas-affiliated terrorist who promoted terrorist activity was detained; in Qalandia and al-Bireh, north of Jerusalem, three terrorists were detained, among them an armed man who incited terrorist activity and a terrorist who assembled explosive devices (IDF spokesperson, May 28, 2026).
  • On May 29, Israeli security forces operating in the village of Meithalun, south of Jenin, detained a cell of three terrorists who were in the stages of organizing an attack. During the searches, an improvised Carlo-type weapon was discovered hidden underground.
• During May 2026, the security forces also thwarted terrorist activity within the territory of the State of Israel:
  • On May 4, it was stated that the Israeli security forces detained five suspects involved in smuggling weapons from the Jordanian border into Judea and Samaria. Reportedly, several months earlier smuggling handguns across the border by drone was prevented. Four Israelis citizens from the Negev, Wael al-Saraya, Madian al-Saraya, Zaid Abu Gwayed, Ali al-Saraya, and a Palestinian from Yatta in the Hebron area, Nasser Najada, were detained on suspicion of involvement in weapons smuggling. Ten handguns and ten magazines were discovered in the possession of two of the detainees. Investigation revealed that by means of drones, the detainees had smuggled 44 handguns into Israeli territory and approximately 120 kilograms of hashish into Jordanian territory. They sold some of the weapons to a person from Judea and Samaria who distributed them in the area (Israeli Security Agency, Police and IDF spokespersons, May 4, 2026).

      
Right: The four suspects from the Negev. Left: Handguns discovered in the possession of the suspects (Israeli Security Agency, Police and IDF spokespersons, May 4, 2026)

• • On May 24, indictments were filed against six Israeli citizens from the Negev for involvement in a weapons and drug smuggling network along the Egyptian and Jordanian borders. Investigation revealed that between 2024 and 2026 the defendants were involved in dozens of weapons and drug smuggling operations using drones and vehicles, smuggling dozens of handguns, dozens of M16 rifles, three machine guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition of various types and large quantities of hashish into Israeli territory. Some of the smuggling had been prevented by the Israeli security forces. The defendants had purchased, possessed and traded dozens of weapons and combat items (ISA and Israel Police spokespersons, May 24, 2026).

• • On May 26, the Israeli security forces broke up a terrorist network of east Jerusalem residents which was operated by a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operative living in France. The five suspects, PFLP operatives, were detained during November-December 2025 on suspicion of having been recruited by Salah Hammouri, a senior PFLP operative who was involved in the attempted assassination of former Shas leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in 2005. Since 2022, Hammouri has been residing in France after his Israeli residency was revoked, and he has been in contact with terrorist elements belonging to the Shi’ite “resistance axis”^[20] to advance terrorist activity in Israel and recruit operatives. The investigation revealed had Hammouri met with the five suspects in Europe during 2024-2025, recruited them to set up a terrorist network for carrying out terrorist activity in Israel and equipped them with a telephone for encrypted communications. Indictments were filed against two of the detainees, the brothers Yazid and Sa’id Dadu, for active membership in a terrorist organization, prohibited action with property for terrorist purposes, conspiracy to commit a crime and attempted conspiracy to commit a criminal offense constituting an act of terrorism (ISA spokesperson and Police spokesperson, May 26, 2026).

• • On May 31, indictments were filed against Hussein Ghanayem and Abd al-Rahim Hamida, both 21 and both from Jerusalem, for terrorism offenses involving planning attacks and contact with a Hamas operative. According to the indictments, during 2024 the two watched videos explaining how to prepare and manufacture explosive devices, transferred them to one another, and later planned to carry out an attack by throwing an explosive device at soldiers at the IDF Anatot base. Hamida reportedly began preparing an explosive device, but stopped after failing to obtain sufficient materials. During 2024 Ghanayem was in contact with a relative residing in Cyprus, who told him that he held a position in Hamas and participated in its activity. Ghanayem was asked to carry out various tasks for Hamas, including photographing different locations and transferring information about checkpoints and soldiers arriving at the hotel where he worked in Jerusalem. According to the indictment, Ghanayem told his relative that a group of soldiers from the Air Force school was expected to stay at the hotel for an event, and gave him their room numbers. The Hamas operative asked Ghanayem whether they would assist him if he sent a suicide bomber to the hotel, and Ghanayem replied that he himself was prepared to carry out a suicide bombing attack, but requested more time to prepare. In January 2023, during riots held while security forces were demolishing the house of a terrorist in the Shuafat refugee camp, Ghanayem and another terrorist threw pipe bombs at the security forces from a distance of approximately ten meters. Ghanayem is charged with offenses of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act of murder with aggravated circumstances, contact with a foreign agent, attempted delivery of information to the enemy, an action or transaction involving weapons for terrorist purposes, a terrorist act of aggravated sabotage and additional offenses, while Hamida is charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act of murder with aggravated circumstances (Ministry of Justice spokesperson, May 31, 2026).

• During May 2026, the Houthis did not attack Israel or vessels in the maritime areas near the territories under their control in Yemen, in accordance with their decision following the beginning of the ceasefire between Iran and the United States on April 8, 2026.^[21]

• During May 2026, reports continued of “infiltrations by the Israeli occupation forces” into villages in the rural areas of the Quneitra and Daraa provinces, the erection of checkpoints and the detention of residents (SANA, the Syrian news agency, and the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, May 1-31, 2026).
• On May 7, the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria – the “Brave Ones” issued a video allegedly documenting rockets fired by its operatives at IDF forces in the Tel al-Ahmar area, located south of Quneitra in southern Syria. According to the militia, “direct hits on the infrastructure” of the target were identified, and the results were defined as the “partial destruction of the fortification system” (Telegram channel of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, May 7, 2026). There is no Israeli confirmation of the claims.
• The organization’s commander, Abu Mujahid, issued a video declaring a new campaign against Israel under the title Min al-Qawa’ed (From the Foundations). He said the attack was the first in a chain of operations, claiming that the expansion of the “Zionist enemy” into Syria was “suicide” and threatened to escalate the struggle against it if expansion continued (Telegram channel of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, May 7, 2026).

     
Right: Picture of the alleged launch at an IDF outpost. Left: Abu Mujahid delivering a speech (Telegram channel of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, May 7, 2026)

• On May 21, the Cypriot security services arrested two Palestinians, 32 and 38, on suspicion of terrorist activity, and searches of the home of one of them in Larnaca revealed materials which could be used for manufacturing explosives. Subsequently, two additional Palestinian suspects were detained in the Larnaca area. One of the suspects reportedly told investigators that they planned to attack Israelis. The investigation of the timing and nature of the planned attacks and the suspects’ affiliation with terrorist organizations continues (Cypriot media, May 25-31, 2026).
• On May 27, the federal prosecution in Germany announced that Danish police had detained a suspect involved in a Hamas terrorist network which planned to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe. According to the prosecution, the suspect, a Danish citizen named Yousif S., who is expected to be extradited to Germany, is a Hamas operative, and in July 2025 he transferred five handguns and ammunition to Abd al-J., one of the defendants accused of membership in the Hamas network who was detained in Germany in October 2025. Abd al-J. transferred the weapons to Muhammad A., another defendant detained in Britain in November 2025, who was supposed to pass them on as preparation for attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and additional places on the continent (German prosecution website, May 27, 2026).^[22]
• The United States Department of Justice announced that Muhammad Baqir Saad Daoud al-Saadi, a senior figure in the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was arrested in Turkey and extradited to the United States for involvement in nearly 20 terrorist attacks, some of which were carried out in Europe and the United States, as revenge for the war in Iran. According to the announcement, al-Saadi was involved in attacks on Jewish and American targets in the United States, Europe and Canada in recent months and in planning additional attacks in the United States on Jewish and other institutions. He was close to former Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani (United States Department of Justice, May 15, 2026). It was later reported that during the investigation, maps and photographs were discovered of homes used by the American president in Florida and New York, and suspicion also arose that al-Saadi advanced attempts to harm two of the American president’s children as revenge for the elimination of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 (New York Post, May 22, 2026). In response to the American announcement, Hezbollah Brigades spokesman Abu Mujahid al-Assaf denied al-Saadi was a member of the organization, but promised he would return to his homeland “with his head held high,” since he supported the “resistance” (Telegram channel of the Hezbollah Brigades, May 18, 2026).