Army of Islam Jaysh al-Islam ("The
Army of Islam") was founded in late 2005 by the
Dogmush clan, a Gazan criminal family. It was initially close to Hamas, and they participated together in the kidnapping of Israeli Defense Forces soldier
Gilad Shalit in 2006. with the likely intention of embarrassing Hamas. and subsequently began to suppress the Army of Islam's activities, which nonetheless continued sporadically and included attacks on
co-ed schools,
local Christians, and a
YMCA building. The attack, which targeted
Coptic Christians, was the deadliest act of violence against the community in a decade, since the
Kosheh massacre in 2000 which left 20 Copts dead. The group participated in the Sinai insurgency alongside Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad and the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, and smuggled members into the Gaza Strip for training, later sending them back to the Sinai Peninsula to carry out attacks. Army of Islam members linked to the
August 2012 Sinai attack have reportedly sought refuge in the Gaza Strip.
Jaysh al-Ummah Jaysh al-Ummah ("The Army of the
Ummah") formed in June 2007 and took credit for firing three rockets into Israel that month. Unlike other groups, it has avoided claiming responsibility for internal attacks inside Gaza and instead has focused on attacks on Israel. In January 2008 they declared their intent to assassinate American president
George W. Bush and stressed their alignment with
Al-Qaeda. Abu Hafs al-Maqdisi, the group's leader, condemned Hamas for not implementing Sharia law, and would end up temporarily detained by Hamas himself. Since then, the two groups have had a mutual hostility but refrain from openly fighting. and the
2014 Gaza War. and also claimed to have taken part in the
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, shooting rockets at Israeli targets. The group has reportedly attacked IDF troops in the Gaza Strip during the 2023 Gaza war, and likely now supports a loose collaboration with Hamas and its allies.
Swords of Truth (Suyuf al-Haq) }} {{about '
, also known by their Arabic name ' ( or 'The Swords of Righteousness'), is or was a "veteran" group primarily concentrated in
Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. It is supposedly led by former Hamas cleric Abu Suheib al-Maqdisi, who left Hamas to protest its decision to take part in the
2006 Palestinian legislative elections. The group has conducted an
acid attack against a young woman dressed "provocatively", attacked a young man listening to music, and threatened Christians. In 2007, the group orchestrated the assassination of senior Palestinian intelligence officer Colonel Jed Tayya, whom it accused of being a
Mossad agent.
Jihadia Salafiya is or was a group mainly known for its threats against Christians. Their leader, Abu Saqer, said in 2007 that Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people" and that Christians "must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza". The group demanded as well an end to Christian missionary activity in the Gaza Strip. Jihadia Salafiya was also suspected of attacking a
United Nations school in the region which hosted a co-ed sporting event. Jund Ansar Allah militants holed up in a building in
Khan Yunis surrendered in a standoff with Hamas police in July 2009. Hamas officials also blamed the group for the bombings of several internet cafes, and of a wedding party attended by relatives of the
West Bank-based Fatah leader,
Mohammed Dahlan, in which fifty people were injured. Jund Ansar Allah denied any responsibility for the latter attack, and Fatah leaders blamed Hamas. In August 2009, Jund Ansar Allah
launched a revolt against Hamas, establishing the short-lived "
Islamic Emirate of Rafah"; the rebellion was crushed by Hamas after a day of fighting, resulting in the group being virtually destroyed and its leaders killed. Remnants of the group did however claim responsibility for rocket attacks against Israel in October 2009 and March 2010. The group participated in the Sinai insurgency alongside the Army of Islam and the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem. Notably, it kidnapped and murdered
Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian peace activist who supported the Palestinian cause, in April 2011. The group said that if their imprisoned leader Hesham al-Sa'eedni was not released by Hamas, they would execute Arrigoni. However, he was found dead well before the deadline; Hamas stormed the house where he was being held and successfully fought the abductors, but found him hanged. The
Los Angeles Times commented:[T]he kidnapping raised questions about Hamas' control over Gaza, and it represents the latest example of how smaller, more radical groups in the territory—some with alleged ties to Al Qaeda—are challenging the rule of Hamas, which itself is viewed by Israel and the
United States as a terrorist organization. Those groups complain that Hamas has become too moderate.Following Arrigoni's murder, Hamas launched a successful crackdown on Tawhid al-Jihad.
Ansar al-Sunnah Ansar al-Sunnah () was a group for a 2010 rocket attack on Israel which killed one foreign worker from
Thailand.
Liwa al-Tawhid and Kataeb al-Tawhid Kataeb al-Tawhid () is the militant wing of Liwa al-Tawhid (). They were a group that emerged in 2009. It claimed a cadre of several hundred fighters and an expertise in “RPG rockets, kalashnikovs, explosive devices, and mines, but we are trained in everything, including martyrdom.” In September 2009, Jaljalat revealed that it had attempted to assassinated former US president
Jimmy Carter and former UK prime minister
Tony Blair, but the plot had been foiled by Hamas. There is a debate over whether Jaljalat actually exists as a distinct group. Gazan Salafi jihadis have frequently denied its existence, and Hamas historically used the term to refer to all Salafi jihadists in Gaza. The group was responsible for the
Askhelon rocket attacks into Israel that year. Hamas raided the home of their leader
Yunis Hunnar in June 2015; he was shot dead while resisting arrest.
Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem The
Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) was formed in 2011 or 2012 by
Hisham al-Saedni to unify Tawhid wal-Jihad, Ansar al-Sunnah, and several other Salafi jihadist groups. By 2022, according to the United States, MSC had been inactive for years.
Jama'at Ansar al-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi Bayt al-Maqdis Jama'at Ansar al-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi Bayt al-Maqdis ("Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem") was a group that assassinated Saber Siam, a Hamas commander, in a car bombing,'''
and fired mortar shells at an Al-Qassam Brigades headquarters in Khan Yunis. Aknaf Beit al-Makdis Aknaf Beit al-Makdis () was a IS-affiliated group that launched two rocket attacks on
Sderot, Israel in 2016.
Katibat al-Sheikh al-Emireen Katibat al-Sheikh al-Emireen was an IS-affiliated group that launched
Katyusha rockets at
Nir Oz in
Israel on May 11, 2021 during
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis Lions of Monotheism The Lions of Monotheism was a group that firebombed five Christian churches in September 2006 in response to
the controversy over Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam. While one of the church attacks occurred in the Gaza Strip, the other four were carried out in
Nablus, in the West Bank. Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh, who was at that time
prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, condemned the attacks.
Masada al-Mujahideen Masada al-Mujahideen was a group associated with Al-Qaeda which was notable for its focus on starting
forest fires with arson attacks. It clashed with Israel, Hamas, and even Jaysh al-Ummah in the early 2010s. It claimed responsibility for more than a dozen forest fires inside Israeli territory between 2010 and 2013. The group even went so far as to claim they were behind forest fires in the United States in 2012 and 2013, namely in the states of
Arizona and
Nevada, but their claims were disproven by American officials.
Jaish al Mu'minun Jaish al-Mu'minun was also known as "Al-Qaeda in Palestine" and carried out the
killing of Rami Ayyad, owner of a Christian bookshop in
Gaza City.''''''
Jund Allah Jund Allah () was reportedly the first ever Salafi jihadist group to carry out an attack in the Gaza Strip, in 2001, though the exact date and target of this attack is unknown. It later carried out attacks with Suyuf al-Haq and other groups in the turmoil that followed the 2006 elections.''''''
Palestinian Taliban == Alleged Salafi jihadist groups ==