At dawn on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, a declared Israeli airstrike killed a prominent member of the Hamas’ political bureau and Head of the Emergency Committee of Hamas, Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi, along with eight members of his family, including three women and four children, when the strike hit the home of the al-Jamasi family in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza city, in the Gaza Strip. Muhammad Daoud and his eldest son, Obeida Muhammad al-Jamasi (Abu Muhammad) have been recorded with contested civilian status, for reasons outlined below.
Al Arabiya News Channel, Sahat, and other media reported on the strike that killed Muhammad Al-Jamasi and his family.
The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the strike that had killed Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi in their Telegram post on March 19, 2025, claiming that he was a “terrorist.” The statement read:
“IDF: Over the past day, the IDF and ISA struck dozens of terror targets and terrorists throughout the Gaza Strip, including Hamas commanders. The strikes were conducted to damage the terrorist organizations’ military and governmental capabilities and to remove threats to the State of Israel and its citizens.
{….}
Additionally, the terrorist Muhammad [al]-Jamasi, Head of the Hamas Emergency Committee, was eliminated. Over the years, he held key positions in Hamas’ political bureau and the movement’s leadership. During the war, he played a significant role in Hamas’ governing activities in Gaza, including directing terrorist operations against the State of Israel.”
In line with Airwars’ methodology across multiple other conflicts, in cases where the only evidence indicating the militant status of an individual is a statement by the perpetrator, Airwars maintains an assumption of civilian status unless additional information comes to light to indicate the contrary. In this case, the IDF statement explicitly refers to [al]-Jamasi as connected to governance activities, including as a member of the “political bureau”. Though Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, and others, the governance structure has both a political and militant wing: members of the political and administrative functions of Hamas would not by default participate in hostilities or be involved in militant activities. As with all Airwars assessments, the categorisations of civilians and militants are based on available information known at the time. Should new information emerge, Airwars will update the assessment accordingly.
Samer al-Jamasi shared on Facebook that Muhammad al-Jamasi, also known as Abu Obeida (father of Obeida), was killed in the strike along with his 49-year-old wife, Nasreen Saleh Abdo (Umm Obeida), their sons, 15-year-old Omar Muhammad al-Jamasi and 29-year-old Obeida Muhammad al-Jamasi (Abu Muhammad), and their 16-year-old daughter Layan Muhammad al-Jamasi.
Obeida Muhammad al-Jamasi was killed alongside his 26-year-old wife Malak Manar Farwana and their two children, a four-year-old daughter, Suwar Obeida al-Jamasi, and a one-year-old son, Muhammad Obeida al-Jamasi.
The Facebook post by Samer al-Jamasi also mentioned his cousin, an adult woman, Umm Khader, among the victims of the deadly strike, but there was no additional information about her.
According to the Facebook post by Islam Abdu, their bodies were extracted only on March 22nd, after days of continuous work.
Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi was an engineer and a member of Hamas’ political bureau (the Supreme Political Council of Hamas). Al-Qahera News named Abu Obeida Al-Jamasi as “the most prominent Hamas leader.” His death prompted many condolences and significant media coverage. The principal photograph shared of him was at the head of a table during a meeting, wearing a black button-up shirt, in the middle of a conversation. He was a middle-aged man with short grey hair.
According to a Facebook post by Muhammad’s brother-in-law, Ramy Abdul, who is also a Palestinian human rights activist, Muhammad Abu Obeida survived nine assassination attempts throughout his life. He referred to the late Muhammad as a “man who was a great big brother and an unparalleled support from my early years.” He also wrote, “I mourn to you our great leader and my beloved sister’s husband, Engineer Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi. I bear witness, Abu Obeida, that you were one of the purest and most sincere people with God. You lived as a brave hero, never retreating despite everything you encountered on this long journey. May God have mercy on you, and we will continue in your footsteps.”
The funeral of Muhammad al-Jamasi was held at al-Salam Mosque in Gaza City. Ramy Abdul wrote, “The mosque was dearest to his heart, and he always loved his children, elders, and youth. He always felt comfortable and at peace within its walls. The funeral procession will then depart from there for burial.”
Images of Muhammad’s funeral showed hundreds of people attending and carrying his body. Noor M. Abdo wrote on Facebook that “Large crowds bid farewell to the great national leader, Eng. Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi “Abu Obeida.”
A condolence message shared by Ramy Abdul (@RamAbdu) on Twitter/X reads “May God be pleased with you, my uncle…Obeida Muhammad al-Jamasi”, sharing a photo Obeida took of himself. He was a young man with a short, dark beard wearing a silver ring on his fourth finger, a black jacket, and a grey buttoned-up shirt.
On Facebook, Ramy Abdul shared a video of the late Obeida where he was smiling at the seaside, surrounded by his family, and wrote a tribute: “Meanwhile, Obeida Muhammad al-Jamasi is being laid to rest. We bear witness that he was a dutiful and righteous son, possessing all the qualities of manhood and chivalry. A hero from his earliest days, as witnessed by the battlefields that may one day unfold. Farewell, my uncle. May God be pleased with you.”
Suwar Obeida al-Jamasi, daughter of Obeida and Malak, a young girl, was also killed in the airstrike. A photograph of her was shared on Facebook. She is sitting in a chair, smiling faintly into the camera, wearing a red and purple sweater, in the middle of rubble with a broken building behind her.
Layan Muhammad al-Jamasi, a student of the Al Amal School, was also killed in the airstrike. She was the daughter of Muhammad and Nasreen. The Al Amal School shared a condolence message for her, reading: “We offer our condolences to the teaching staff at Al Amal School and the honorable al-Jamasi family on the martyrdom of student Layan Muhammad al-Jamasi and all her family members.” The photo accompanying the message showed Layan to be a young girl, wearing a flowery shirt and a white headscarf, smiling into the camera.
Another post of Layan referred to her as “the start of the house and everywhere…Lulu, who’s innocence overflows and whose eyes sparkle with passion for life and joyful conversation”. The accompanying picture showed her in a store, wearing a comical hat, and laughing.
Omar Muhammad al-Jamasi (Abu Aziz), son of Muhammad and Nasreen, played football at the Al-Hilal Football Academy. The picture shared of him showed a teenager wearing a football shirt from the team he played for at the academy, smiling. Ramy Abdul wrote a touching tribute to Omar, emphasizing his intelligence, cheerful nature, and dedication to his family: “Today, the body of our beloved Omar Mohammed Al-Jamasi – Abu Aziz – was exhumed and laid to rest. He was the intelligent, cheerful man with a warm laugh and big dreams. He carried the burden of his family on his shoulders and grew up before his time. Everyone’s beloved, they killed your innocence, assassinated your dreams, and extinguished our smiles and laughter with you. My beloved uncle.”
Nasreen Saleh Abdo’s brother wrote a message on Facebook for her and her husband. “I was able to announce the passing of my sister, the piece of my heart, and her children, the beloved of my life, but by God, this obituary is the heaviest thing I have ever written, for a man who was a great big brother and an unparalleled support from my early years.” In the images shown on social media, the late Nasreen is seen as a middle-aged smiling woman, wearing a gray hijab.
Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the ninth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list.
No further information was shared about injured in the airstrike.
The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the strike, but fell short of acknowledging the civilian harm resulting from it. Airwars has therefore graded the strike status of the incident as “declared”, but civilian harm status as “fair.”
According to the Facebook posts by Islam Abdu and Maher A. Alareer, the strike was carried out at dawn.
Note on militancy
Another of Muhammad Daoud and Nasreen Salah's sons, Nour al-Din Muhammad al-Jamasi, was killed later in the year, on October 8, 2025. On October 10, 2026. On October 10, 2026, a Telegram account affiliated with Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qessam Brigades, published a tribute to Nour al-Din Muhammad al-Jamasi, identifying him as a fighter.
Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi and Obeida Muhammad Daoud al-Jamasi are featured at timestamp 3:22 with the caption "برفقة الشهداء القادة المجاهدين" or "in the company of martyred mujahid leaders." As it is known that Muhammad Daoud was a Hamas leader, the feature and reference in the tribute does not shed new light on the nature of his affiliation. However, given the potential that Muhammad Daoud's Hamas affiliation may have been militant in nature when he was killed, his civilian status has been updated to contested. Though it was not known that Obeida was affiliated with Hamas in any capacity outside his relationship to his father, given the fact that his brother was referred to as a "mujahid leader" and his brother was identified as a fighter, his status has also been recorded as contested.