Battle of Rafah (2009)

Battle of Rafah (2009)
Part of the Salafi jihadist insurgency in the Gaza Strip
Location of Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Date 14–15 August 2009 (1 day) Location Rafah Governorate, Gaza Strip, Palestine Result Hamas government victory Territorial changes Destruction of the self proclaimed Islamic Emirate of Rafah Restoration of the Hamas government throughout the Rafah Governorate
Belligerents
Islamic Emirate of Rafah	Hamas
Commanders and leaders
Abdel Latif Moussa †  Abu Abdullah al-Suri †	Khaled Mashal Ismail Haniyeh  Abu Jibril Shimali †
Units involved
Jund Ansar Allah	Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Rafah Brigade Palestinian Security Services Palestinian Police
Strength
100+ militants	Unknown
Casualties and losses
15 militants killed 40 militants arrested	6 police officers killed[1]
5 Palestinian civilians killed 150 Palestinian civilians wounded[citation needed]

The Battle of Rafah (2009) took place between Hamas and Jund Ansar Allah in the Rafah Governorate of the Gaza Strip.^[2] Fighting between the two Palestinian militant organizations broke out on 14 August 2009, when Jund Ansar Allah's founder Abdel Latif Moussa denounced the Hamas government for supposedly failing to enforce Islamic law and for "not being any different from a secular government" since it ousted Fatah during the Battle of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. He subsequently proclaimed the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Rafah and swore allegiance to al-Qaeda. In total, 26 people were killed and 150 were wounded during the conflict, including an 11-year-old Palestinian girl.^[3] Moussa was killed in Rafah on 15 August 2009, triggering the collapse of Jund Ansar Allah and the Islamic Emirate of Rafah.

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.^{[citation needed]} The next day, the 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.^[ambiguous] About 15 Jund Ansar Allah fighters were killed, 40 were captured, 5 civilians were killed. 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.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

• Islamist anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip
• Islamism in the Gaza Strip
• Palestinian nationalism
• Palestinian suicide attacks
• Islam and nationalism