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A Palestinian engineer from Gaza City, born in 1983. In 2007, he joined the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and was one of the main engineers who manufactured drones.

He made the first chassis for the “Ababil plane” and designed the “Zouari” and “Shehab” planes. The Phalange called him "the Knight of Heaven." He was assassinated by Israel during the Battle of Saif al-Quds in 2021.

Birth and upbringing

Mahmoud Muhammad Fares was born on June 10, 1983 in Palestine, in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, to a humble family that raised its children to love God and sacrifice for the sake of liberating the homeland.

Study and training

He received his initial education in Gaza City, and after high school he obtained a scholarship at the beginning of the second intifada to Syria, where he studied mechanical engineering in Latakia, and obtained first rank in his specialty.

He was one of the most prominent leaders of Palestinian student work in Syria. After graduating, he joined the Al-Qassam Brigades and received training courses in manufacturing drones in several Arab countries.

Path of resistance

Fares joined the Hamas movement while he was a student at the University of Latakia in Syria, and had a distinguished presence in Palestinian student affairs.

In 2005, the Hamas Military Work Department abroad launched a project to manufacture drones, and began mobilizing the minds capable of realizing the dream. Engineer Fares was the most prominent of the minds who believed in the project and gave it their time and effort.

After his graduation, he joined the Al-Qassam Brigades, and received training courses in manufacturing drones in several Arab countries. He was trained by the martyr, engineer Muhammad Al-Zawari, who was responsible for the unit for developing and manufacturing drones, in addition to the martyr Jumaa Al-Tahla.

He returned to Gaza in 2010, transferring the experience and expertise he had accumulated to serve the project of manufacturing and developing drones. He took over the efforts to develop the drones after the battle of “Shale Stones” in 2012, and he continued his work on the project until it resulted in the launch of the “Ababil” plane, which was used by the Qassam Brigades for the first time in the battle. The "Devouring Storm" in 2014 surprised the occupation and its intelligence.

Fares also developed the "Shahab" and "Zouari" aircraft, in addition to missile engines. He worked to develop Al-Qassam military manufacturing, and was able to leave his mark on every march flying in the skies of the occupation, in addition to training and transferring expertise to members of the military industrialization unit in the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Martyrdom

Israeli military aircraft targeted one of the manufacturing workshops in the Battle of “The Eating Storm”, trying to assassinate Fares, but he survived that attempt. They also targeted his house in Khan Yunis and he survived for the second time, until the occupation was able to assassinate him on May 12, 2021 in the Battle of “Saif Al-Quds” with Rifqa. Commander Jumaa Al-Tahla.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites