Report: Senior Hamas Jihadists Defecting to Islamic State

Hamas naval police show arms as they hold a ceremony for the nine victims who were shot de
MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty

The Times of Israel reports: A member of Hamas’s naval commando unit defected from the Gaza-based terror organization nearly a year ago to join the Sinai Province — the Islamic State group’s branch in the Sinai Peninsula, Palestinian sources told The Times of Israel.

Abed al-Wahad Abu Aadara, 20, from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, was arrested approximately two months ago by Hamas while visiting Gaza due to his affiliation with IS. He has since been freed.

Although Abu Aadara is not the first Hamas operative to defect to IS, he is the first known member of the group’s naval commando unit to join its ranks.

Read more here.

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