Al-Qassam Brigades

Al-Qassam Brigades
كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام
LeaderMohammed Sinwar
Mohammed Deif X[note 1]
Deputy LeaderMarwan Issa X
SpokesmanAbu Obaida
Dates of operation1991–present
HeadquartersGaza Strip
Active regions Palestine
 Israel
 Lebanon
IdeologyPalestinian nationalism
Palestinian self-determination
Sunni Islamism[1]
Islamic fundamentalism[2]
Anti-imperialism
Notable attacksMehola Junction bombing, Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing, Matza restaurant suicide bombing, Patt Junction bus bombing, Kiryat Menachem bus bombing, Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge
StatusActive
Size15,000–40,000+[3][4][5]
Part of Hamas
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsIsraeli–Palestinian conflict
Designated as a terrorist group by
EQB specifically:
Websitewww.alqassam.ps

Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB;[14][note 2] Arabic: كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, romanized: Katāib al-Shahīd 'izz al-Dīn al-Qassām, lit. 'Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam'), named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, is the military wing[17][18][19] of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas.[15][20][21][22][23][24] Led by Mohammed Deif until his presumed death on 13 July 2024, the Al-Qassam Brigades is the largest and best-equipped militia operating within the Gaza Strip in recent years.[15]

Created in mid-1991,[25] it was at the time concerned with blocking the Oslo Accords negotiations.[26][27] From 1994 to 2000, the Al-Qassam Brigades has claimed responsibility for carrying out a number of attacks against Israelis.[15]

At the beginning of the Second Intifada, the group became a central target of Israel. The Al-Qassam Brigades operated several cells in the West Bank. Most of them were destroyed by 2004, following numerous operations of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the region.[citation needed] In contrast, Hamas retained a forceful presence in the Gaza Strip, generally considered its stronghold. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas political leader in the Gaza Strip from February 2017 to October 2024, was the main military leader in the Brigades in Gaza during the Israel–Hamas war.[28][29] After his killing, Sinwar was succeded by his brother Mohammed.

The Al-Qassam Brigades are explicitly listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union,[30] Australia,[31] New Zealand,[32] Egypt,[33] and the United Kingdom.[34][35] Though not explicitly mentioning EQB, the United States[36][37] and Canada[38] have designated its parent entity, Hamas, as a terrorist organization;[39] Brigade leader Mohammed Deif was classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US under Executive Order 13224.[40][41] As the Brigades undertake military activity on behalf of Hamas, "organized terrorist activities associated with Hamas can be reliably attributed to the Brigades."[31]


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ * "Understanding Islamism" Archived 7 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Crisis Group Middle East/North Africa Report N°37, 2 March 2005.
    • "The New Hamas: Between Resistance and Participation". Middle East Report. Graham Usher, 21 August 2005.
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    • "Council on Foreign Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
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    • Islamic fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza: Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad, by Ziyād Abū 'Amr, Indiana University Press, 1994, pp. 66–72
    • Anti-Semitic Motifs in the Ideology of Hizballah and Hamas, Esther Webman, Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism, 1994. ISBN 978-965-222-592-4
  3. ^ (IISS), International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 February 2018). The Military Balance, 2018, Vol. 118, No. 1, February 2018. Routledge. ISBN 9781857439557.
  4. ^ (in French) Christian Chesnot, Michel Goya : "Militairement, le Hamas monte en gamme depuis 2010", France Culture, 18 May 2021.
  5. ^ Nakhoul, Samia (16 October 2023). "How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  6. ^ Tollast, Robert; Oweis, Khaled Yacoub (15 November 2023). "Who are Hamas's allies in Gaza? From Islamic Jihad to Marxist militants". The National. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Exclusive: Hamas Official Discusses Decline of Iranian Support". موقع الدكتور عدنان ابو عامر. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  8. ^ "On Sanctioning of Four Financial Facilitators for Hamas – United States Department of State". Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  9. ^ Hussein Abou Saleh (2 November 2023). "Iran's 'axis of resistance': how Hamas and Tehran are attempting to galvanise their allies against Israel". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Evidence shows Hamas militants likely used some North Korean weapons in attack on Israel". Associated Press. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ "How the US became Israel's closest ally". 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Hamas arrests Salafi sheikh in Gaza over IS ties". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  13. ^ AFP. "Hamas arrests Salafi sheikh over alleged Islamic State ties - Radical cleric Adnan Khader Mayat detained on Sunday by Gaza security forces". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ezzedeen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b c d "Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB) – Hamas." Mapping Palestinian Politics. European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2021 May 20.
  16. ^ "Top Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades commander among Hamas leaders killed in fighting". Al Arabiya English. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Al-Qassam Brigades say they hit 3 Israeli tanks, bulldozer in Gaza". Middle East Monitor. 29 March 2024. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. Hamas's military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades said Thursday that its fighters targeted several Israeli military vehicles across the Gaza Strip,
  18. ^ "Al-Qassam Brigades pledge allegiance to new Hamas' political chief Yahya Sinwar". Anadolu ajansı. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  19. ^ Majid, Mohamed (25 April 2024). "Hamas' military wing targets Israeli surveillance site in central Gaza". Anadolu ajansı. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Al-Quds Brigades says it targets Israeli cities". Anadolu ajansı. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Hamas: The Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza". BBC News. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  22. ^ Asmar, Ahmed (18 June 2024). "Hamas sees disbanding of Israel's War Cabinet as victory for Palestinian resistance". Anadolu ajansı. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  23. ^ Afifi, Dilara (20 July 2024). "Israeli forces ambushed in southern Gaza, say Al-Qassam Brigades". Anadolu Ajansı. Retrieved 24 August 2024. The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas, said Saturday that they ambushed Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip.
  24. ^ "What is Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades?". Al Jazeera English. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2024. Hamas established its military unit, the Qassam Brigades, in 1992 to support its objective of armed resistance against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The name is inspired by Syrian freedom fighter Ezzedine al-Qassam, who struggled against European colonisers in the Levant. After he was expelled to Palestine by the French colonialists, he took up the Palestinian cause, calling for armed resistance
  25. ^ "About Us". Al-Qassam Brigades Information Office. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  26. ^ Cleveland, William L. (1999). A history of the modern Middle East. Westview Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-0-8133-3489-9. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  27. ^ Schanzer, Jonathan (2003). "The Challenge of Hamas to Fatah". The Middle East Quarterly. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  28. ^ Beaumont, Peter (13 February 2017). "Hamas elects hardliner Yahya Sinwar as its Gaza Strip chief". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017.
  29. ^ Balousha, Hazam; Booth, William (13 February 2017). "Hamas names hard-liner as its new political leader in Gaza". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  30. ^ Implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC (Council Decision). OJEU. Vol. L 340. Council of the European Union (published 23 December 2005). 21 December 2005. 2005/930/EC. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  31. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ "Lists associated with Resolution 1373". New Zealand Police. 20 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  33. ^ "La branche armée du Hamas palestinien déclarée "terroriste" en Egypte". rts.ch. 31 January 2015.
  34. ^ "Proscribed Organisations". Terrorism Act 2000 (sched. 2). UK Public General Acts. Vol. 2000 c. 11. 20 July 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  36. ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism 2004" (PDF). U.S. State Department. April 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  38. ^ "Al-Qassam Brigades | Database." Jihad Intel. Middle East Forum. Retrieved 2021 May 20.
  39. ^ "Currently listed entities". www.publicsafety.gc.ca. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List." U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2021 May 20. Retrieved 2021 May 20.
  41. ^ "Executive Order 13224". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 May 2021.