Osama Mazini

Osama Mazini
أسامة مزيني
Education Minister of the Gaza Strip
In office
2007–2014
Prime MinisterIsmail Haniyeh
Personal details
Born1966 (1966)
Gaza City, Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip
Died (aged 57)
Gaza Strip
Political partyHamas

Osama Mazini (Arabic: أسامة مزيني; 1966 – 16 October 2023) was a Palestinian senior political leader of the Palestinian Islamist political and militant group Hamas.[1]

Mazini was in charge of negotiation affairs dealing with captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.[2]

In a 2006 sermon, he criticized Pope Benedict XVI over the latter's remarks on Islam, saying that the pontiff was "ignorant and stupid", "criminal and arrogant", and "a cruel man, spilling blood, who strove to kill".[3][4]

During Israel's airstrikes in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza War in December 2008, Mazini warned Israel about sending in ground forces, stating "the people of Gaza are waiting to see the Zionist enemy in Gaza to tear them into pieces of flesh."[5]

Mazini was killed in an airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 16 October 2023 during the Israel–Hamas war. He was 57.[6][7][8][9][10]

  1. ^ Airstrikes rock Gaza as truce remains elusive USA Today.
  2. ^ Hamas leader: mediation has ended with no deal in the case of the Israeli soldier Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Ma'an News Agency. 11 December 2006.
  3. ^ Marcus, Itamar; Crook, Barbara (25 September 2006). "Hamas: Pope is Nazi, arrogant, stupid and criminal; Allah will punish Pope in due time". Palestinian Media Watch. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009.
  4. ^ "The Nazi Pope". The Atlantic. 25 September 2006. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. ^ Barzak, Ibrahim. Israel demands monitors as part of a Gaza truce Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Associated Press. 31 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Hamas Hostage Negotiator Killed, Israel Says". The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Top Hamas official who handled Shalit file eliminated". Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  8. ^ Halabi, Einav (16 October 2023). "Member of Hamas political bureau, Osama al-Mazini, killed". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  9. ^ "IDF says it killed former senior Hamas official who was in charge of Gilad Shalit prisoner file". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  10. ^ "IDF assassinates Hamas leader linked to Gilad Shalit prisoner swap". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 17 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.