Jamal Al-Badda is one of the most prominent developers of the Palestinian resistance weapon (Al-Jazeera)

A Palestinian mechanical engineer, and a commander in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). He was born in 1956. He left work at NASA and returned to the Gaza Strip, where he was born. He is considered one of the developers of the military capabilities of the Palestinian resistance. The Israeli security service described him as a major force in the production of resistance missiles, and the occupation assassinated him in 2021.

Birth and upbringing:

Jamal Muhammad Saeed Al-Badda was born in 1956 in Gaza City to a family that had emigrated from the city of Jaffa in Palestine. He was known for his morals and brilliance, and he was an important scholar during his studies. His studies attracted the attention of specialized scientific magazines and books, and he obtained many patents.

Study and scientific training

Jamal received his university education in Virginia, USA, and obtained a doctorate in engineering and mechanical sciences from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

He wrote his thesis on the F-16 fighter jet engine, and focused his research on fluid mechanics, aerodynamics and the delta wing used in the manufacture of military aircraft. He specialized in the field of structural engineering and software development.

Practical and military experience

Despite his work at the US Space Agency (NASA) and the availability of means of living there, Jamal Al-Buda chose to move to an Arab country, so the United Arab Emirates was his destination, where he worked as a lecturer for approximately 8 years at the UAE University.

In 1994, he decided to return to the Gaza Strip, and worked as a lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering at the Islamic University, then founded and headed the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2010.

In 2006, he joined with his son Osama a special team of engineers in the Al-Qassam Brigades, and his activities were characterized by complete secrecy even from those close to him, as he contributed to developing the capabilities of the military resistance, including training a number of military engineers, and developing drones and a missile program that reached a range of 35 kilometers in 2009.

Achievements

The series of wars launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip showed a remarkable development in Hamas’ military capabilities, and Jamal and his team of military engineers succeeded in developing the Qassam missile program. In the Battle of the Shale Stones in 2012, the Palestinian resistance factions launched 1,500 missiles, some of which exceeded a range of 80 kilometers, and some of which reached the first time. Once to the occupied areas of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In the Battle of Al-Asif Al-Makoul in 2014, drones belonging to the resistance factions flew in Israeli airspace. Israeli defense systems could not detect them until they penetrated the occupied territories to a depth of more than 30 kilometers.

Jamal Al-Badda’s efforts revolved around expanding the range of Qassam missiles to reach 250 kilometers, covering all parts of occupied Palestine. The Qassam Brigades succeeded in manufacturing a new “Ayyash 250” missile, whose range reached 250 kilometers, and it entered service in the Battle of Saif Al-Quds in 2021.

Failed assassination attempt

Israel failed to assassinate the hidden engineer Jamal Al-Badda during the 2012 Battle of Shale Stones. This attempt was a surprise to many, as he was not known for his military work and no one knew that he was responsible for the military manufacturing department and the development of missiles and drones in the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Certificate of pride

His son, Abdul Aziz, revealed in an interview with the family on Al Jazeera Net that his father frequently prayed during the month of Ramadan, a few days before the outbreak of the Saif al-Quds Battle (2021), hoping that God would grant him martyrdom. He often repeated, “Jerusalem is worthy of sacrifice.”

A clip of him and his son Osama also spread on social media after his martyrdom, in which Jamal Al-Badda appears giving his son a gift on the occasion of his birthday, telling him, “May you spend 100 years in jihad and breaking the heads of the Jews.”

His wife, Umm Osama, said that her husband, Jamal, was keen to instill love for the country and sacrifice for it in the hearts of his children and even his young grandchildren. Although he spoke little, his talk was always about resistance as the only way to liberate Palestine.

Umm Osama pledged to continue his path and raise her grandchildren on the path of resistance against the occupation until their martyred grandfather’s dream of liberating the entire territory of Palestine from the sea to the river was achieved.

Jamal Al-Badda (left) and his son Osama, who was martyred with him in the Battle of Saif Al-Quds in 2021 (agencies)

Assassination

On May 12, 2021, the second day of the Battle of Saif al-Quds, the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) announced the assassination of Jamal al-Badda, along with his son Osama and a number of Qassam Brigades leaders and fighters, in an air strike. The Israeli media described him as a “precious catch.”

His wife mourned him and said, “If the occupation thinks that Dr. Jamal is gone, a thousand camels will follow him.”

Source: Al Jazeera + websites