Background information

Mahmud Uda and Ayman Dahduh, Islamic Jihad terrorists responsible for attacks against Israelis, were killed in an operation by Israeli security forces in the northern Gaza Strip.

Mahmud Uda, born 1980, the head of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza City, was responsible for terrorist cells and directed numerous terrorist attacks, including the infiltration of Netzarim on October 24 2003, in which two female IDF soldiers and one male IDF soldier were killed, and two IDF soldiers were injured. Furthermore, Uda operated a number of cells which are responsible for the firing of mortar shells and carried out attacks using mortar shells against Israeli targets.

Uda was active in increasing the capability of his terrorist organization, especially in the field of weaponry development and cooperation with other terror organizations. Because of the terrorist activity in which he was involved, Uda was arrested several times since September 2000 by the Palestinian Authority but released afterwards. He was also engaged in the planning of further attacks to be carried out in the near future.

Uda, according to security assessments, was carrying high quality weaponry in his vehicle when he was killed.

Ayman Dahduh, born in 1972, an Islamic Jihad terrorist, directed many attacks, some involving the activation of explosive devices. In the framework of his terrorist activity, he was behind the planning of a singular attack, due to be carried out by the Islamic Jihad in the near future.

The terrorist activity carried out by Mahmud Uda and Ayman Dahduh also included the suicide attack near Kfar Darom (27 February 2004), in which a suicide bomber riding on a bicycle approached the greenhouses of Kfar Darom and detonated himself as he was asked to be identified. Searches conducted in the area discovered the body of the bomber along with a 3kgs explosive belt and two mortar shells.