Gabriel Epstein Profile picture
Apr 14 6 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Today, Hamas identified Mustafa Kamal Abdulqader Bakir (ID#: 800707911, age 36), a cameraman for the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV outlet, as a member of its military media and a commander in the Rafah Brigade’s Artillery Battalion. Bakir was killed in a Nov 2023 airstrike. 🧵 Image

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Bakir is listed as a slain journalist/media worker by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the Hamas-run Government Media Office, and other trackers. Image
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The Hamas obituary video shows Bakir working with several types of rockets and in his media role. Some sections of the video are of a much younger Bakir, possibly from 2014 while others were shot recently. According to relatives, Bakir was injured in the 2008-2009 Israel-Hamas war, but it isn't clear if that was as part of combat or not.

As far as I'm aware, this is the first clear evidence that Bakir was a militant.Image
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Other militants pictured in the video (clockwise from top left):

Rafah Brigade Commander Raed al-Attar (killed in 2014)

Rafah Brigade Commander Mohammed Mahmoud Saad Shabana (age 54, killed in May 2025 alongside Mohammed Sinwar in a strike on a tunnel under the European Hospital in Khan Younis)

Mohammed Zaki Mohammed Fahjan, another commander in the artillery battalion (ID#: 801043548, age 38, killed in November 2023)

Mohammed Bassem Ahmed al-Jamal, another member of the Rafah Brigade's military media and a journalist for Palestine Now (ID#: 801215336, age 35, killed in April 2024)Image
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More from @GabrielEpsteinX

May 7
On May 6, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published another set of 17 of their slain commanders in Gaza, bringing the total identified since February to 292. This set includes journalists, health and education workers, and police and internal security personnel. 🧵 Image
PIJ confirmed prior reporting first done by @MiddleEastBuka that Mohammed al-Saeed Ismail Abu Sakhil (ID#: 803231604, age 32), a journalist for the Sawt al-Quds Radio station, was a platoon commander in PIJ’s Financial Administration Unit in the Gaza Brigade. Both Sakhil and his brother (another journalist) were killed in fighting in and near Shifa Hospital in March-April 2024. x.com/GabrielEpstein…Image
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Mohammed Abdulnasser Mohammed al-Masri (ID#: 802443788, age 33), a teacher and the husband of journalist Salam Khalil Mohammed Mayma (ID#: 802820001, age 32), was a commander in PIJ’s Central Coordination Unit in the Northern Brigade. Both al-Masri and Mayma, along with their three children, were killed in an October 2023 airstrike. More detail on their case is here: x.com/GabrielEpstein…
Read 10 tweets
May 6
The likely target of an Oct 10, 2023 airstrike in Gaza that killed journalist Salam Khalil Mohammed Mayma (ID#: 802820001, age 32): her husband, PIJ commander Mohammed Abdulnasser Mohammed al-Masri (ID#: 802443788, age 33). 🧵 Image
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Today, PIJ claimed al-Masri as a commander in its Central Coordination Unit in the Northern Brigade. al-Masri was also a teacher at multiple schools, including a stretch at the Adnan al-Alami Secondary School for Boys in al-Shati neighborhood in Gaza City. al-Masri and Mayma reportedly wed in 2015.Image
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Salam Khalil Mayma is included on the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists, and the Hamas-run Government Media Office’s list of slain journalists in Gaza, as well as outside trackers.
Mayma was the head of the Women Journalists Committee at the Palestinian Media Assembly, which CPJ identified as a PIJ-affiliated body. CPJ lists her as a freelance journalist, while IFJ identifies her as a reporter for the PIJ-affiliated al-Quds Radio.Image
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Read 6 tweets
May 4
On May 2, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published another set of 22 of their slain commanders in Gaza, bringing the total identified since February to 275. This set, which focuses largely on those is “specialized” roles, includes health, education, and sports workers.🧵 Image
Raed Musa Ramadan al-Banna (ID#: 910736529, age 52), an administrative clerk at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, was a platoon commander in PIJ’s al-Jadida Battalion in the Gaza Brigade. al-Banna was killed in an October 2023 airstrike, which @MiddleEastBuka identified as the same strike which killed journalist Nazmi al-Nadim. Image
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Shadi Rafiq Misbah Ayyad (ID#: 804454544, age 31), a teacher in the East Gaza Education Directorate, was a Platoon Commander in the Training Department of PIJ’s Gaza Brigade. Ayyad was killed in June 2025. Image
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Read 10 tweets
Apr 27
Yesterday (4/26), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) published another set of 22 of their slain commanders in Gaza, bringing the total identified since February to 253. This addition includes civil defense and healthcare workers in dual roles, as well as lawyers.🧵 Image
Ahmed Ismail Ahmed al-Buraim (ID#: 8800154916, age 43), a first lieutenant in Gaza’s Civil Defense, was also a platoon commander in PIJ’s Central Communications Unit in the Central Brigade.
He was killed in a July 2025 airstrike, alongside his son Mohammed Ahmed Ismail al-Buraim (ID#: 429672884, age 15), who appears to have been a child combatant based on videos posted to social media by his mother which show both Ahmed and Mohammed armed and in military uniform.Image
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Tamer Mohammed Salman al-Humaidi (ID#: 906613740, age 42), an administrative services worker at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, was a PIJ platoon commander within the weapons portfolio in the Central Brigade. He was killed in May 2024. Image
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Read 9 tweets
Apr 24
In the last two days, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has identified 22 more slain commanders in Gaza, bringing the total claimed directly by the group in the last two months to 231. This tranche includes the Gaza director of Turkish NGO IHH and an imam. 🧵 Image
Ahmed Kamel Abdulaziz Ayyad (ID#: 801489725, age 39) was the deputy commander of the al-Turkmen Battalion in PIJ’s Gaza Brigade. He was killed in a July 2025 airstrike. Image
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Mohammed Jamal Faraj al-Mubayyad (ID#: 800691495, age 38) was a commander in PIJ’s Central Mobilization Unit in the Gaza Brigade, as well as the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation’s program director in Gaza. I analyzed the strike he was killed in last month.

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Read 7 tweets
Apr 22
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) identified 43 more slain commanders, totaling 209 announcements in the past 2 months. Most of this tranche are platoon-level commanders and were killed in the first year of the war. The list includes 6 workers for the Hamas-run government. 🧵 Image
Ahmed Jamal Khaled al-Bahtini (ID#: 801485285, age 37), the deputy commander of PIJ’s Darj al-Tuffah Battalion in the Gaza Brigade, was killed in an October 2023 airstrike. The extended al-Bahtini family is prominent in PIJ: Khalil Salah al-Bahtini was the group’s military leader in northern Gaza and was killed during the May 2023 Israel-PIJ conflict.Image
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Ahmed Mohammed Hussein Abu al-Qumsan (ID#: 801250820, age 35), the deputy commander of PIJ’s al-Radwan and al-Nasser Battalion in the Gaza Brigade, was killed in an October 2024 airstrike. Image
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Read 9 tweets

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