‘Central Operative’: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader Killed by Airstrike as Israel Ramps Up Concerted Air Campaign

Latest Developments

• PIJ Head Eliminated in Israeli Strike: The Israeli military announced on November 10 that it had killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s head of operations, Muhammad Abu Sakhil. He was a key figure in the organization’s “planning and execution” of terrorist attacks.

• Terror HQ Embedded in Former School: The strike targeted a command-and-control center inside a building that formerly operated as the Fahd al-Sabah School in northern Gaza. The IDF said it took numerous measures prior to the strike to avoid harming civilians, including “aerial observations” and gathering “accurate intelligence information.”

• More High-Value Targets Potentially Killed in Syria: The killing of Abu Sakhil came on the same day that reports began spreading that the IDF had eliminated senior Hezbollah operative Salim Jamil Ayyash in a separate airstrike in the Syrian city of al-Qusayr. The United States has a is $10 million bounty on Ayyash, who was convicted in absentia and given a life sentence by a UN tribunal for having led the team that assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

FDD Expert Response

“The IDF has been focused on Hamas during the war, with some military operations aimed at degrading the capabilities of smaller allied terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad. These armed groups have supported Hamas by participating in the October 7 massacre and carrying out attacks against Israeli targets throughout the war. While the IDF should continue to degrade Hamas’s capabilities, these smaller Palestinian terrorist groups are equally important. If Israel wants to achieve the goal of removing Hamas from power, the Jewish state cannot leave these allied groups intact.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hezbollah’s late leader Hassan Nasrallah once asserted that Salim Ayyash would never face trial for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri — be it in 30 days, 30 years, or even 300 years. Yet, much like other things said by the terror group’s former secretary-general, he was wrong. Israel has seemingly managed to locate and eliminate Ayyash, a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 121 who was notorious for orchestrating assassinations. Ayyash had a bloody record, involved in multiple assassinations of Lebanese political figures. Ayyash was sought by both international courts and the United States, and his elimination by Israel, if confirmed, would serve as a significant act of justice.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst

FDD Background and Analysis

“Palestinian Terrorists Received Instruction in Homegrown Arsenals in Iranian Classroom,” FDD Flash Brief

“Captured Documents Show Al Jazeera Ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad,” by Ahmad Sharawi

“IDF returns to northern Gaza’s Jabaliya neighborhood,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“IDF Eliminates Palestinian Islamic Jihad Rocket Commander,” FDD Flash Brief