Wa'el Nassar

Wa'el Nassar was an active member and one of the senior leaders of the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades, the military wing of palestinian islamist movement Hamas , untils its assassination by Israel on May 30th , 2004 , in Gaza City .¹ Born in 1973, Nassar, a devout muslim, joined the ranks of the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades in 1992 soon after the creation of the group. He quickly took charge of a small group of fighters and led severeal attacks againts the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza strip , wich claimed the lives of at least 2 soldiers. Identified as a top leader of the brigades by 1996, Wa'el Nassar prepared to carry out himself a suicide bombing, but failed to infiltrate Israel and his plan was foiled. Placed on the list of people to kill or arrest by the IDF, Nassar was chased by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was at that time engaged in a peace process with Israel, and arrested in 1996 by the PA. The militant was then placed in administrative detention and was released at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada . Living clandestinley in Gaza , Wa'el Nassar then recovered as a top leader of the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades and led many cells of fighters wich carried out severeal sophisticated and letal attacks againts israeli settlers and soldiers in Gaza. From 2000 to its death, Nassar directed operations that claimed, according to Hamas and IDF sources, the lives of at least 27 israeli soldiers or civilians. Injured in 2001 when the mortar crew he led was hit by an israeli missile fired from an helicopter, he recovered and masterminded several important operations. Among others, Nassar planed the suicide operation carried out by Reem El-Reyashi on january 14th , 2002 , the first ever Hamas' female suicide bomber, wich killed 4 israeli soldiers at the Erez checkpoint north of the Gaza Strip. He was also blamed for the march 21th , 2004 , bombing of Ashdod , in southern Israel, wich claimed the lives of 10 civilans and triggered an IDF reprisal wich killed Hamas' spiritual leader and founder, sheik Ahmed Yasin Actively researched by Israel, Nassar, living in hiding, continued to lead groups of Hamas fighter and was reportedly in charge of the cell that detonated a powerfull bomb under an israeli Armoured personnel carrier (APC) in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood wich killed 6 IDF soldiers during an israeli incursion on may 12th , 2004 . Nassar's cell then collected body parts of the killed soldiers and exchanged them to israel following their display in video. Vowing to avenge the soldier's deaths, Israel marked Nassar for death and actively searched for its whereabouts. On May 30th , 2004 , Wa'el Nassar was riding a motorcycle in Zeitun following an operation againts an israeli settlements when a IDF drone fired a missile at the vehicle, killing him and his assistant, Mohammed Sarsour as well as a bystander.²