Palestinian Islamic Jihad recently published the names of an additional 85 commanders killed during the Gaza war. This thread will cover the second half of the list (see next tweet for the first), which includes commanders in media, medical, and police roles. Details below: 🧵
Hassan Abdulfattah Farajallah Farajallah (ID#: 800183485, age 39), an executive at the PIJ-affiliated al-Quds Today TV as well as a news presenter, was the commander of PIJ’s Mobilization Unit in the Northern Brigade. He was also, according to his Facebook page and other social media posts, a human development coach and educator at multiple Gazan schools.
Farajallah was killed in a December 2023 airstrike, and is listed by the IFJ and Hamas-run Government Media Office, though not the Committee to Protect Journalists, as a journalist killed during the war.
Murshid Mohammed Murshid Abu Abdullah (ID#: 802290056, age 36), a commander in PIJ’s internal security unit for the Khan Younis Brigade, was the managing director of the al-Baraka Specialized Health Center, a government-run primary care clinic in Deir al-Balah, and is listed by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as a radiology technician at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Abu Abdullah was killed in a July 2025 airstrike.
Rami Talal Mohammed Jarghoun (ID#: 800669095, age 37), a PIJ commander in the al-Balad Battalion’s Support Unit within the Khan Younis Brigade, is listed by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as an administrative supervisor at the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Jarghoun was killed in a September 2024 airstrike.
Ahmed Hanafi Ahmed Abu Tarabish (ID#: 800536831, age 39), a PIJ commander in the Northern Brigade's Surveillance Unit, was also a police captain, based on photos posted by his family. Abu Tarabish was killed in a December 2024 airstrike.
Summary of combined list of 85 slain PIJ commanders:
72 commanders are directly connected to one of PIJ’s five regional brigade: Gaza (20), Northern (17), Khan Younis (16), Central (11), and Rafah (8); 13 others are connected to centralized PIJ units.
The 85 commanders span a wide array of ranks: 11 deputy battalion commanders, 13 commanders in centralized PIJ units, 39 commanders in various centralized brigade-level units, 10 commanders from battalion-level support units, 2 Nukhba commanders, and 10 field-level squad commanders.
76 of the 85 commanders (89%) can be found on the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health death toll list.
16 held an initially confirmable civilian/dual position, including:
- 4 journalists/media workers
- 5 nurses or other healthcare workers
- 2 lawyers
- 1 police captain
PIJ has announced the names of 166 slain commanders in the last month. The introduction of field-level commanders into the latest list likely means more announcements of lower-ranking commanders will come with time.
This style—major releases of obituary posters with specific information about roles within PIJ—is the opposite of Hamas’ approach thus far. Post-ceasefire, Hamas has slowly but steadily released individual obituaries without a clear order by rank or area, and largely limited details about role beyond distinguishing between commanders and rank-and-file militants. However, while PIJ obituaries amount mostly to posters, Hamas also releases highly-produced obituary videos and supporting media.
All links supporting details about individuals highlighted in either thread or more comprehensive identification of anyone on the PIJ commanders list available on request.
Abu Abdullah is listed in a Hamas-run Health Ministry dashboard that contains a disaggregated list of reported healthcare workers killed. To access the list, go to the link below, click the “Health Staff” tab, right-click the admin and services column, and select “view as a table” to search Abu Abdullah's ID within that list. sehatty.ps/public/
Social media posts about Jarghoun show him in scrubs and state that he worked at the European hospital, but are not clear about his role. A Hamas-run Health Ministry dashboard, however, contains a disaggregated list of claimed healthcare workers killed. To see it, go to the link below, click the “Health Staff” tab, right-click the admin and services column, and select “view as a table”. By searching Jarghoun's ID number, one can find he is listed as an administrative supervisor at the European hospital. sehatty.ps/public/
Farajallah was previously identified by @MiddleEastBuka -- what's new is PIJ giving more detail about his position within the organization.
Ibrahim Rizq Nimr Arshi (ID#: 802379503, age 35), director of Turkish NGO IHH's nutrition program in Gaza, was a squad leader in the training section of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's central operations unit, Gaza Brigade. Arshi was killed in June 2025 with another PIJ militant. 🧵
Arshi was identified as IHH's (also known as the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation) nutrition program director in Gaza in interviews for multiple al-Jazeera articles from March-May 2025, as well as by the Lebanese newspaper an-Nahar (which referred to him as a social protection officer with IHH instead) and the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency.
Memorial posts from family members also show Arshi with an IHH vest during food distributions in undated photos.
On June 18, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published notices for 20 of its slain squad-level leaders in Gaza, bringing the total number of commanders and officers identified since February to 497 across 21 releases. This reflects a shift towards announcing lower-tier military figures. 🧵
In general, these squad-level leaders are more difficult to find information on than higher-ranking commanders. In other cases, they do not appear on the Hamas-run Ministry of Health (MOH) death toll registry despite their deaths being well-publicized.
An example is Mustafa Ismail Mustafa al-Wadiyya, a Nukhba squad leader in PIJ’s Gaza Brigade. His death (and those of at least two brothers who were also PIJ militants) has widely documented by relatives and PIJ-affiliated channels since at least July 2024, but he does not appear on the MOH list.
On June 13, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published notices for 16 more slain military officers in Gaza, bringing the total identified since February to 477 across 20 releases. This set focuses primarily on the Khan Younis Brigade and includes an NGO board member. 🧵
Mohammed Zayed Hamed Zaqmat (ID#: 921895991, age 53), a board member of the National Development Forum educational and cultural NGO, was a platoon deputy in PIJ’s military judicial unit in the Khan Younis Brigade. Zaqmat was killed in an October 2023 airstrike along with several relatives, including one son, Zayed Mohammed Zayed Zaqmat (ID#: 803879220, age 30), who was a militant.
Alaa Ismail Salem Abu Lahia (ID#: 400603866, age 30), a worker at the Zamzam Water Distribution Company, was a platoon deputy within the infrastructure file in PIJ’s Khan Younis Brigade. Abu Lahia was killed in August 2025.
On June 9, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published notices for 19 more slain officers in Gaza, bringing the total identified since February to 461 across 19 releases. This set includes two journalists, a police officer, and a tribal relations official. 🧵
Jumaa Salah Fares Siam (ID#: 900544701, age 46), part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's coordination file in the Gaza Brigade, publicly worked as a member of PIJ's Public Relations and Reform Committee--responsible for the tribal file in Gaza. Siam was killed in November 2024.🧵
Siam worked for the Reform committee dating back to at least 2013, and was also an important member of his own clan.
An underexplored (and difficult to research) aspect of militant group control in Gaza is their relationship with clans. Coercive efforts, like attacks on the Dughmush and Majayda clans, are well-publicized, but the more subtle day-to-day expressions of power seem to have much more to do with relationship management and internecine politics.
The Public Relations and Reform Committee that Siam sat on for over a decade is a clear example of PIJ's efforts to exert political influence over Gaza clans -- it handled both the movement's relationships with clans and was involved in mediating inter-clan disputes.
Another Gazan militant/journalist: Helmi Mohammed Helmi al-Faqawi (ID#: 401814496, age 28), who worked for the PIJ-affiliated Palestine Today TV outlet, was a deputy squad/platoon-level leader in PIJ's central military media unit in the Khan Younis Brigade. al-Faqawi, killed in an April 2025 strike, was one of several family members involved with PIJ. 🧵
Jamal Aref Salem al-Faqawi (ID#: 402220396, age 27), a journalist at the PIJ-affiliated Mithaq Media Foundation, was a deputy platoon/squad leader in PIJ's central support and supply unit in the Khan Younis Brigade. Jamal was killed in an October 2023 strike, and was first ID'd by @MiddleEastBuka. Both Helmi and Jamal were claimed by PIJ in the same June 9 media release.
I mentioned Helmi al-Faqawi in this earlier identification of Arafat al-Faqawi, a court clerk in Rafah and PIJ commander.