Raed Moussa-Gaza
The name of the martyr Bahaa Abu al-Atta, who was assassinated by Israeli warplanes at dawn on Tuesday, in a raid on his house in the neighborhood of Shujaiya east of Gaza City, strongly during the past few months, as Israel holds him responsible for the operations carried out by the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of Islamic Jihad.
Local and medical sources told Al-Jazeera Net that the Israeli raid resulted in the death of Abu Al-Atta (42 years), nicknamed "Abu Salim", and his wife, and his two children were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment at Shifa main hospital in Gaza City.
Al-Quds Brigades says that Abu al-Atta is its commander in the northern region, and one of the most prominent members of its military council in the Gaza Strip, and had a prominent role in overseeing the implementation of many jihad operations against the enemy.
Palestinian sources confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that Abu Al-Atta survived several Israeli assassination attempts in the past years, and was injured in one of these attempts that targeted him in 2012.
During the last Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, Abu al-Atta survived an Israeli assassination attempt, when he was deputy commander of the Northern District of Jerusalem Brigades Daniel Mansour (Abu Abdullah), who was assassinated by Israel on August 3, 2014.
Israel describes Abu al-Atta as a "problem maker who is not subject to anyone" and that he is "highly mobile and unpredictable" and is in direct contact with Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhla, who lives in Beirut.
Israel accuses Abu al-Atta of being responsible for all the operations carried out by Al-Quds Brigades since the beginning of this year, such as firing rockets and drones, and sniping operations on the security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip from both the eastern and northern sides.
While Israel claimed that Abu al-Atta was a "time bomb" and that his assassination came to prevent it from carrying out an operation planned in the coming days and that it was not concerned with the escalation in Gaza, the Al-Quds Brigades threatened a "seismic, unlimited response" to the assassination.
A large crowd gathered in Shifa Hospital Square and the surrounding streets to participate in the funeral procession of the martyr Abu Al-Atta, which will start from the great Omari Mosque in the city after noon prayers this afternoon.