Battle of Rafah (2009)

Battle of Rafah (2009)
Part of the Palestinian political violence
Location of Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Date August 14–15, 2009 Location Gaza Strip, Rafah Result Hamas victory Jund Ansar Allah virtually destroyed Collapse of the Islamic Emirate of Rafah
Belligerents
Islamic Emirate of Rafah	Palestinian National Authority
Commanders and leaders
Abdel Latif Moussa † Abu Abdullah al Suri †	Khaled Mashal Abu Jibril Shimali †
Units involved
Jund Ansar Allah	Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Rafah Brigade
Strength
100+ fighters	unknown
Casualties and losses
15 killed 40 captured	6 fighters killed
5 civilians killed, 150 people wounded overall

The 2009 Battle of Rafah was a battle, fought between the police forces of the Islamist group Hamas controlling Gaza, and the radical Islamist group Jund Ansar Allah.^[1] The fighting began on 14 August 2009 and concluded the next day. In total, 24 people were killed in the fighting, including six Hamas police officers and an 11-year-old girl, and a further 150 were wounded.^[2]

The raid

A day before the Hamas raid, Jund Ansar Allah leader, Abdel Latif Moussa, declared the Islamic Emirate of Rafah, and swore allegiance to Al-Qaeda. About 100 of his fighters were seen in a video where he pledged allegiance in his base, a mosque in Rafah. The next day, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades attacked the Mosque and other bases of the group in Rafah. The fighting lasted 7 hours. It was reported that when Hamas reached the positions of Moussa and Jund Ansar Allah's military commander, Abu Abdullah al Suri, they detonated themselves. About 13 Jund Ansar Allah fighters were killed, 40 were captured, 5 civilians were killed, including 6 Hamas militants. al-Qassam brigades commander Abu Jibril Shimali, was also killed during the battle. The group was virtually destroyed after the fighting, having both of its leaders killed, and its bases captured. It was reported that Hamas later released some of the captured.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

References