Thread by @GabrielEpsteinX

UPDATING THREAD: Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has released a sizable list of high-ranking commanders killed during the war, particularly second-in-commands of many key units. Notable IDs, including journalists, doctors, and others below.🧵

Mahdi Hassan Mohammed al-Mamlouk (ID#: 801389321, 38) was the deputy head of PIJ's central communications unit as well as a broadcast engineer for PIJ's satellite channel, al-Quds al-Youm TV. He was killed in a Nov 2024 airstrike, and is listed by the CPJ and IFJ (though not the Hamas-run GMO) as a journalist.

Fadi Jihad Mohammed al-Wadiyya (ID# 802854323, age 33) , a physiotherapist working for Doctors Without Borders, was ID'd by the IDF as a PIJ member shortly after he was killed in a June 2024 airstrike. Today, PIJ confirmed that al-Wadiyya was the deputy head of their military manufacturing unit.

Another physiotherapist (for the Health Ministry) Waseem Yahya Abdulqader al-Ustaz (ID#: 801330481, age 37), was also the deputy commander of PIJ's Northern Brigade. al-Ustaz was killed in a November 2023 airstrike.

Alaa Hassan Abdullah Asbihi (ID#: 400060240, 29) was a nurse at the European Hospital in southern Gaza, as well as the deputy commander of PIJ's Military Manufacturing Unit. He was killed along with his family in a December 2023 airstrike.

Samir Suleiman Abu Shawish (ID#: 800428146, age 40), commander of PIJ's Yabna Battalion in the Rafah Brigade, is listed as working at the MAAN Development Center, a Palestinian NGO, in an unclear role. Abu Shawish was killed in an April 2025 airstrike.

Abdullah Mohammed Mahmoud Khattab (ID#: 900959230, age 48), the commander of the Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion in the Central Brigade, was killed in a September 2024 strike near the al-Aqsa hospital. His son Hamdan (ID# 424419307, age 17), a likely child combatant, was killed alongside him.

Hatem Khalaf Ibrahim Abu al-Jidian (ID#: 906736798, age 42), the commander of the Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion, was killed in the same strike near al-Aqsa Hospital.

Deputy head of PIJ's Central Intelligence Unit Arafat Abdullah Mahmoud Abu Zayed (ID#: 800428633, age 39), was also a political analyst and writer for the SHMS agency and Palestine Today. However, he is not included on the CPJ, IFJ, or Hamas-run GMO lists of journalists or media workers. Abu Zayed was killed in an August 2024 airstrike.
x.com/JoeTruzman/sta…

While many of these commanders' deaths had been previously revealed, and some date back to the first weeks of the war, others are new. While Mohyeddin Mahmoud Sadiq -- commander of PIJ's al-Balad battalion in the Khan Younis Brigade -- was killed in August 2025, his death was not reported to the MOH and his family was silent on social media until today.
Cases like this underscore just how effective Gazan militants' refusal to distinguish between combatants and civilians and pressure for families of killed militants to stay quiet can be. Without the group itself or family members breaking silence, combatant identification becomes near-impossible without closed-source intelligence work. This challenge is amplified for mid-level commanders who tightly follow operational security protocols and who are not well known to Gazans who could otherwise identify them.

Summing up: PIJ announced the deaths of 41 high-level commanders, including:
- 3 Members of its General Staff Council and 1 of its Military Council
- 16 deputy (or assistant) commanders in manufacturing, missile, administrative, operations, and other units
- 6 deputy brigade commanders
- 15 battalion commanders

Dual civilian roles for 8 of 41 commanders are currently known, including four in medical roles, two in media/journalist roles, one religious position, and 1 apparent NGO worker.

34/41 are listed on the November 2025 MOH death toll list. Of the missing seven, five died during or after October 2025.