Family Members and Online Jihadis Commemorate
U.S. Citizen Killed Fighting Alongside Hamas
In the last few days family members, media outlets, and online jihadis have commemorated U.S. citizen Osama Al-Zebda and his father, Jamal Al-Zebda, a graduate of U.S. universities. Both men were rocket engineers in the Hamas military arm, Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and were killed in Israeli airstrikes on May 12.
On May 23
[1] and 24,
[2] the Al-Qassam Brigades Telegram channel described the father as a "commander" and the son as a "field commander" and said that both were martyred during the "battle of the Sword of Al Quds [Jerusalem]."
Osama Al-Zebda's wife, Yosra Aklouk, wrote on his Facebook account: "My husband, who is 33 years old, and if men's ages are measured by their actions, he would have been the one with the highest status and age. My husband, a U.S. citizen, when he knew that the shortest way to Allah is to sacrifice yourself, your mind, your time and wealth for him and for his religion, he dedicated himself to that." She then mentioned that the 10 hours he spent every day in "manufacturing workshops" had "granted him martyrdom in the hereafter."
[4]
And the Jihadi wife's shocked...