Nukhba (Al-Qassam)
The Nukhba (Hebrew: נוח'בה, from Arabic: النخبة, romanized: al-Nukhba, lit. 'the elite') is an Israeli name for trained fighters of from the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).[3][4]
| Nukhba forces | |
|---|---|
| قسام النخبة قوات النخبة | |
| Also known as | Al-Nukhba |
| Leaders | Ayman Nofal[1][2] |
| Dates of operation | 2010 – present |
| Country |  Palestine |
| Allegiance |  Hamas |
| Headquarters | Gaza Strip |
| Active regions | |
| Part of | Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades |
| Opponents |  Israel |
| Battles and wars | |
Israel claims the unit led the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, at the beginning of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[5]
History
changeIn 2016 Israel's Institute for National Security Studies said there were 5,000 trained fighters in the Nukhba.[verification needed][4]
In 2017, some of its members detected to join ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula.[3][6] That same year a Hamas government border guard at Rafah crossing was killed by an ISIS suicide bomber.[7]
Post 7 October attack
changeAccording to an IDF spokesman, the Israeli air force have been specifically targeting Nukhba.[8] Shin Bet set up a new unit called Nili – an abbreviation of the Hebrew phrase Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker (transl. The Eternity of Israel Will Not Lie) – tasked with hunting down Nukhba members.[9]
Sources from the military said that some of the strikes targeted at top level Hamas militants were authorized despite the people authorising the strike knowing that they would kill large mines of other people. According to the IDF, on October 17, Hamas' fourth most senior commander Ayman Nofal who had responsibility for the Nukhba and the Be'eri massacre and Re'im music festival massacres was killed in an airstrike.[10][11] Sources from the Israeli military said that in order to kill Nofal the military knowingly authorized a strike that they knew would kill approximately 300 other people. Four multi-story apartment buildings were destroyed in the strike.[2] Only 70 bodies were recovered from the site on the first day, but locals in Gaza continued digging through the ruble of the building for 5 days, and believed some bodies remind under the ruble months later in April 2024. The Qassam Brigades confirmed that Nofal had been killed in the strike.[10][2][1]
Nukhba prisoners
changeThe Israeli military described most of their prisoners of war as "Nukhba". According to footage the Israeli security services released of interrogation of purportedly captured Nukhba members, Hamas has been using medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, especially the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, to shield themselves from Israeli strikes and that the underground levels of the hospital are utilized for hiding resources like weapons and ammunition. Hamas denied these claims.[12] Israeli officials claimed that Palestinian prisoners of war who were tortured and sexually assaulted were members of the Nukhba and that this justified abuse against them. For example, Knesset member (KM) Hanoch Milwidsky, from the Likud party, said: “If he is a Nukhba, everything is legitimate to do! Everything!” When responding to a question from Arab Israeli KM Ahmad Tibi's criticism. of the treatment of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli soldiers. Knesset member Simcha Rothman also commented on the Nukhba, "we see over and over again an enormous disconnect between the justice and enforcement agencies, who persecute reservists, heroic fighters, who left everything behind in order to protect us from the Nukhba terrorists, for whom 'animals' is a compliment". In response to the reports of mistreatment of Nukhba prisoners Gidion Levy wrote that, "…the reports about sex crimes remained as defining the barbarity of the Nukhba. Now we have rape by our own Nukhba. There is not just "suspicion of rape" here and there is no need to recite the prefix "alleged." Somebody raped the Palestinian prisoner…" in his opinion piece in Haaretz.[13]
Other websites
change- What is the Nukhba, the special force of Hamas? (Podcast) , with Dr. Michael Milstein, former head of the Palestinian arena at AMAN.[verification needed]
Related pages
changeFootnotes
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Israel accused of using AI to choose Gaza targets (transcript of interview)". CBC (Canada). 8 April 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
Ayman Nofal. He was the commander of Gaza's central brigade. And the source claimed that the military knowingly authorized to kill 300 Palestinian civilians alongside this target. 300 people. And we spoke to Palestinians who were witnesses of that attack, because the IDF, you know, the IDF published footage of the attack and we managed to geolocate it to where it was. And indeed, four multi-story buildings filled with apartments were bombed on the families that were inside. … And Palestinians who talked to us, you know, said that they found 70 people dead in the first day, and for five days continuously, they took people out of the rubble.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Iraqi, Amjad (3 April 2024). "'Lavender': The AI machine directing Israel's bombing spree in Gaza". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
In order to assassinate Ayman Nofal, the commander of Hamas' Central Gaza Brigade, a source said the army authorized the killing of approximately 300 civilians, destroying several buildings in airstrikes on Al-Bureij refugee camp on Oct. 17, based on an imprecise pinpointing of Nofal.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rothwell, James (12 October 2023). "Israel sets its sights on destroying Nukhba, the mysterious Hamas commando squad". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Anat Kurtz ענת קורץ; Odi Dekal אודי דקל; Bendetta Berti בנדטה ברטי (2018). "The Gaza Strip crisis: a response to the challenge" משבר רצועת עזה: מענה לאתגר. Institute for National Security Studies (Israel) . p. 45.
in the chapter: Hebrew: ההתעצמות הצבאית של חמאס, lit. 'The military strengthening of Hamas'
- ↑ Cook, Ellie (12 October 2023). "'Elite' Hamas Unit Behind Saturday Massacre Targeted in Israel Air Strikes". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ↑ Issacharoff, Avi (7 February 2017). "Elite Hamas fighters defecting to Islamic State". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ↑ Levy, Elior; Kais, Roi. "Hamas commander killed in ISIS suicide bombing at Rafah crossing". Ynet.
- ↑ Wong, Edward; Yazbek, Hiba (13 October 2023). "Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Worsens as Israel Prepares a Possible Invasion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ↑ Bohbot, Amir (22 October 2023). "New Israeli unit has one goal: Kill all terrorists involved in massacre". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 David Brennan (17 October 2023). "Top Hamas commander killed in Israeli strike". Newsweek. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ↑ Rapaport, Amir (20 October 2013). "Israel at War – End of Week 2: Eliminating Hamas' Nukhba Terrorists and Preparing for a Ground Operation". israeldefense.co.il. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ↑ Zitun, Yoav (28 October 2023). "Detained terrorists admit Hamas using hospitals to shield themselves". Ynet. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ↑ Gideon Levy (1 August 2024). "Israel's Version of the Nukhba Is Worse Than Hamas'". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
After a number of horror stories – not all of them – were refuted and found to have been incorrect, the reports about sex crimes remained as defining the barbarity of the Nukhba. Now we have rape by our own Nukhba. There is not just "suspicion of rape" here and there is no need to recite the prefix "alleged." Somebody raped the Palestinian prisoner who was taken to the hospital with a ruptured bowel and severe injury to his anus, and that somebody did all that to him on behalf of the state.