Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi: Doctor, Hamas Co-founder, Killed in 2004

Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi (1947–2004) was a Palestinian paediatrician and leader, born in the village of Yibna, whose people Zionist militias drove out in 1948, so that he grew up a refugee in Khan Younis camp. He was one of the seven founding leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and spokesman for the Marj al-Zuhur deportees, and led the movement in the Gaza Strip after the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, until Israel killed him with helicopter missiles fired at his car in Gaza on 17 April 2004. [1] [2]

This article is part of the series “Assassinated leaders of the Palestinian revolution,” alongside the articles on Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Saleh al-Arouri and Yahya Sinwar.

Who was Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi?

Rantisi combined medicine with national struggle: a doctor who treated poor children for free, a university lecturer, a writer of political articles and poetry and one of the foremost resistance leaders [1]. He spent long years in Israeli prisons, survived several assassination attempts and led Hamas for less than a month before following Sheikh Yassin [1] [2] [3].

Rantisi at a glance

Timeline

From Yibna to Khan Younis camp

Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was born on 23 October 1947 in the village of Yibna, between al-Majdal and Jaffa [2] [1]. After Yibna was occupied in the 1948 Nakba his family fled to the Gaza Strip and settled in Khan Younis refugee camp when he was six months old [2] [1]. He had nine brothers and two sisters, studied in UNRWA schools and worked from an early age to help support his large family [2] [1].

The doctor

Rantisi finished secondary school in 1965 with distinction and won an UNRWA scholarship to study medicine at Alexandria University, graduating in 1971; he returned in 1974 to specialise and earned an MA in paediatrics in 1976 [1]. He worked at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, heading its paediatrics department, and treated poor children free of charge [1] [2].

He taught science courses, including genetics and parasitology, at the Islamic University of Gaza from its opening in 1978 [2] [1]. In 1983 the occupation authorities dismissed him from Nasser Hospital [1]. He sat on the boards of the Islamic Complex, the Arab Medical Association in Gaza and the Palestine Red Crescent [2].

Founding Hamas

During his studies in Egypt Rantisi was influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, and became one of its leading figures in the Khan Younis area [1]. On 9 December 1987, as the First Intifada broke out, he was one of the seven leaders who met at Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s house and decided to found the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) [1] [2].

Rantisi recounted the founding: “I was in charge of the Khan Younis area in the Muslim Brotherhood, and in 1987 we decided to take an active part in the intifada. We were seven: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Fattah Dukhan, Muhammad Shama’a, Ibrahim al-Yazouri, Salah Shehadeh and Issa al-Nashar”; they chose the name “Islamic Resistance Movement,” abbreviated to “Hamas.”

Arrests and deportation to Marj al-Zuhur

Rantisi was first arrested in 1983 for leading a campaign against paying taxes to the occupation authorities [1] [2]. On 5 January 1988 he was held for 21 days; on 4 February 1988 he was arrested again and held until 4 September 1990; and on 14 December 1990 he was placed in administrative detention for a year [2] [1].

On 17 December 1992 the occupation deported him with some 415 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members to Marj al-Zuhur in south Lebanon, where he became the deportees’ official spokesman and his face became known worldwide [1] [2]. When he returned on 15 December 1993 he was immediately detained; a military court sentenced him in 1995 and he was not released until April 1997 [1].

The Palestinian Authority’s security services arrested him in April 1998 for about 15 months, and three more times in 2000–2001 [1].

Assassination attempts

On 10 June 2003 Israeli Apache helicopters fired missiles at his car in Gaza City; he was hit by shrapnel in the left leg, three Palestinians including a woman and a girl were killed, as was one of his bodyguards, and his son Ahmad was seriously wounded [4] [3] [1]. Still groggy from the anaesthetic, he vowed to continue the resistance [4].

He survived a second attempt in September 2003 and a third three days after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s assassination, which Hamas did not disclose until Israeli security services confirmed it [1].

Hamas leader after Sheikh Yassin

On 22 March 2004 Israel assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin after dawn prayers, and Hamas chose Rantisi as his successor to lead the movement in the Gaza Strip [1] [2].

The assassination of Rantisi: Gaza, 17 April 2004

On 17 April 2004, less than a month after Sheikh Yassin was killed, an Israeli helicopter fired three missiles at his car in Gaza City, killing him and two of his bodyguards [1] [2] [3]. The next day tens of thousands followed his coffin from al-Shifa Hospital; prayers were held at al-Omari Mosque and he was buried in the Sheikh Radwan cemetery [1].

Al Jazeera described the killing as a new chapter in Israel’s series of assassinations of Hamas leaders [3].

Family

Rantisi married Jamila al-Shanti; they had two sons, Muhammad and Ahmad, and four daughters, Inas, Samar, Asia and Asma’ [1]. Besides medicine, he wrote political articles and poetry [1].

Video

Conclusion

A refugee child from Yibna became a doctor treating the children of the camps, then a leader who spent years in prison and exile, until Israeli helicopters hunted him down in the streets of Gaza. In less than a month Israel assassinated two Hamas leaders, Sheikh Yassin and then Rantisi, in an assassination policy that has never stopped.

Also in this series: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Saleh al-Arouri, Yahya Sinwar.

Frequently asked questions about Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi

Who was Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi?

A Palestinian paediatrician and leader, a co-founder of Hamas, who led the movement in Gaza after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Where was Rantisi’s family from?

From the village of Yibna, between al-Majdal and Jaffa, whose people were expelled in 1948.

When was Rantisi assassinated?

On 17 April 2004.

How was Rantisi killed?

By three missiles fired by an Israeli helicopter at his car in Gaza City; two of his bodyguards were killed with him.

What was Rantisi’s role at Marj al-Zuhur?

He was the official spokesman for the more than 400 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members deported to south Lebanon in 1992.

When did Rantisi become Hamas leader?

After Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s assassination on 22 March 2004.

Where is Rantisi buried?

In the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza City.

Sources and references

Arabic-language sources are listed with translated titles.

1. “Abd al-Aziz Rantisi,” Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question, Institute for Palestine Studies.
2. “Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi: A Paediatrician Who Helped Found Hamas,” Al Jazeera Net (updated 18 April 2024).
3. “Rantisi’s Assassination: A New Chapter in Targeting Hamas Leaders,” Al Jazeera Net, 17 April 2004.
4. “The Attempt on Rantisi: A Renewed Display of an Old Policy,” Al Jazeera Net, 10 June 2003.