The Murder of the Hatuel family was a shooting attack on May 2, 2004, in which
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
militants killed Tali Hatuel, a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
settler, who was eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, aged two to eleven.
[ The attack took place near the Kissufim Crossing near their home in ]Gush Katif
Gush Katif () was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demo ...
bloc of Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
during the Second Intifada
The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
.[ After shooting at the vehicle in which Hatuel was driving with her daughters, witnesses said the militants approached the vehicle and shot the occupants repeatedly at close range.][
An alliance of Islamic Jihad and the ]Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC; , ''Lijān al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya'') is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Isra ...
claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was carried out in reprisal for the assassinations of Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
leaders Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdelaziz Rantisi by the Israeli army some weeks earlier.[
The attack shocked the Israeli public,][ and was classified by ]Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
as a crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
. On June 6, 2007, the IDF arrested Jihad Salah Saliman Abu Dahar, a Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad from the Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war.
Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...
area, who according to Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
officials admitted to several acts of violence
''Acts of Violence'' is a 2018 American action thriller film directed by Brett Donowho, starring Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Shawn Ashmore, Ashton Holmes, Melissa Bolona, Sophia Bush, and Mike Epps. It was written by Nicolas Aaron Mezzanat ...
, including the attack on Hatuel and her daughters.
Background
In 1992 David and Tali Hatuel, a Jewish Israeli couple, moved from Ofakim
Ofakim () is a city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) west of Beersheba. It achieved municipal status in 1955. It has an area of 10,000 dunams (~3.9 sq mi; 10 km2). In , it had a populatio ...
, in southern Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, to the Israeli settlement Katif located in the Gush Katif
Gush Katif () was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demo ...
bloc in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
.[ David Hatuel was familiar with Gush Katif having studied in a ]yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
there.[ After 3 years the couple left for 18 months but returned once they had completed their studies.][ Tali worked as a ]social worker
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
with the Gaza Coast Regional Council.[ Her work included counseling Israelis whose relatives had been killed in the conflict.][ David worked as a school principal in ]Ashkelon
Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
The modern city i ...
.[ They had four daughters and Tali was eight months pregnant with a son when she was killed.][
]
The attack
On Sunday, May 2, 2004, Hatuel picked up her three oldest daughters from school and drove with them and their 2-year-old sister in the family station wagon towards her husband's workplace in Ashkelon to campaign against Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
In 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 Israeli settlement, Israeli settlements there. As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well. The disengagement was executed unil ...
. Likud
Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
party members were voting that day in a legally non-binding, advisory referendum being conducted across Israel and in Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories
The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...
on Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
's disengagement proposal.[ While traveling in the vicinity of the Kissufim Crossing at 12:40 pm, two armed Palestinian militants, who had prepared an ambush near the highway, opened fire at the car, causing the car to spin off the road.] The attackers, who were armed with automatic rifles, then approached the vehicle and fired their weapons from close range at Hatuel and her daughters repeatedly.[ The gunmen also opened fire on an Israeli civilian from Ohad in southern Israel traveling in a separate car.][ He managed to reverse and drive away injured.] A CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
film crew working near Gush Katif who had come under fire by the militants earlier had attempted to warn and stop Israeli civilian vehicles leaving Gush Katif, among them Hatuel and her four daughters who drove past the armored CNN car.[
Twenty minutes before the attack, the ]Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) had received information about a possible attack and were strengthening forces in the area.[ The IDF killed both of the gunmen, identified as Ibrahim Mohammad Hammad (22), and Faisal Abu Naqira (26), reportedly from the Rafah refugee camp.][ A sniper stationed close by killed one of the men and soldiers sent to the scene charged the other attacker and shot him.] Two soldiers from the Givati Brigade
The 84th "Givati" Brigade () is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade formed in 1947.
During the 1948 war, it was involved in capturing Palestinian villages in operations ''Hametz'', ''Barak'', and ''Pleshet''.
Before Israel's 2005 ...
who were in a vehicle behind the Hatuel car were also injured during the battle.[ An explosive device was set off near the attack site but it did not result in any injuries.] The Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC; , ''Lijān al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya'') is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian people, Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the Palestinian Authority an ...
and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was carried out in reprisals for the assassinations of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdelaziz Rantisi by the Israeli army earlier the same year and reportedly described it as "heroic".[
]
Aftermath
Tali Hatuel and her children were the first settlers in Gaza to be killed since 2002 and the attack "provoked extreme tension in Gaza". The deaths brought the total number of people killed in the Second Intifada to 3,958 at that time, 905 Israelis and 2,983 Palestinians.
Following the attack, Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at a tower-block in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City
Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
that housed a radio station with links to Hamas which the IDF alleged had been broadcasting "incitement".[ The attack on the building, which also contained apartments, businesses, and the two main Palestinian newspapers, al-Ayyam and al-Quds, collapsed part of the roof, cut off the building's electricity and wounded seven people.] Hours later, an Israeli air strike on a car in the West Bank city of Nablus
Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
killed four people described as members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...
by Palestinian sources.[ The IDF described them as "senior terrorists" who had been responsible for several attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.][
On May 9, 2004, a week after the attack, two gunmen reportedly dressed in women's clothing, opened fire on about 200 to 300 people attending a heavily guarded memorial service on the Kissufim road in the southern Gaza Strip for Tali Hatuel and her daughters.] Mourners had to take cover behind vehicles during the 20 to 30 minute exchange of fire.[ The gunmen opened fire on the attendees from about 300 meters away.][ David Hatuel was not present having been stopped on the way by soldiers once the shooting started.][ No Israelis were injured in the attack.] The body of one gunman killed by the Israel Defense Forces was recovered after a search of the area but the IDF said that they believed a second gunman was also killed.[ Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.][ After the attack, the chairman of the Gaza Coast Regional Council said "The IDF needs to open a corridor of one kilometer on either side of the road".][ Settlers in the area had complained that the IDF had not demolished Palestinian homes next to the Kissufim road where the attack took place.][
The following day, on May 10, 2004, IDF troops shot dead a 22-year-old local Palestinian when Israeli bulldozers razed a row of homes and a four-storey block of flats was demolished in the Khan Yunis refugee camp a few hundred meters from where the attack took place.][ Palestinian sources, international aid organizations and media sources variously reported that 75 Palestinians or 50 families were left homeless by the action.] By May 10, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, 1,100 Palestinians had been made homeless by Israeli military raids in Gaza in what they described as "one of the most intense periods of destruction for years" and "illegal collective punishment" for the killing of Tali Hatuel and children.[ The IDF described the figures as "highly exaggerated" and said they only demolished buildings that they had confirmed had been used by militants to attack Israeli targets.][
Near the end of May, during Operation Rainbow, the Israeli army demolished a building across the street from the home of Ibrahim Hammad, one of the perpetrators of the attack on the Hatuel family.] According to a neighbor, residents had already left the area on the assumption that Hammad's house would be demolished. According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, Hammad's house was not harmed but a house across the street belonging to Mahmoud Abu Arab was bulldozed instead.[ Abu Arab submitted a claim for compensation from the Israeli authorities.][
On September 25, 2005, the ]Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
killed the organizer of the attack, Sheikh Khalil, in a targeted assassination, described by Islamic Jihad as one of its "most senior commanders in Palestine." Khalil, who had survived several previous assassination attempts, died when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at his car in the Gaza Strip. His deputy was also killed and four others were injured.[ Israel military officials stated that Khalil had orchestrated several attacks on Israelis.]
On June 6, 2007, the IDF arrested Jihad Salah Saliman Abu Dahar, a member of Islamic Jihad from the Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war.
Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...
area, who according to Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
officials admitted to involvement in violence, including the Hatuel murder. Abu Dahar reportedly admitted to carrying out surveillance of the attack site and IDF patrols in the weeks prior to the murders and on May 2, 2004, he notified his commanders when IDF patrols were absent.[
On May 9, 2023, Jihad Ghanem, a top official in the Islamic Jihad military council and one of the orchestrators of the attack on the Hatuel family, was killed during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.
]
Reactions
Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel
The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel.
Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...
at the time, condemned the attack as a "brutal crime against civilians and children." In Damascus, Ramadan Shallah
Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shalah (; 1January 1958 – 6June 2020) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from 1995 to 2018.
On becoming secretary-general of PIJ, Shalah was desig ...
, the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said killing of Israeli women and children was permissible "because they decided spontaneously to go live in a war zone". The attack was strongly condemned by Amnesty International as a deliberate attack against civilians and therefore a crime against humanity as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
.[ The commissioner general of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) condemned the killings of Tali Hatuel and her children but accused the Israel authorities of carrying out reprisal demolitions of Palestinian homes in some areas as a form of collective punishment forbidden by international law.][
]
Commemoration
The funeral, held in Ashkelon the same day as the attack, was attended by thousands of mourners including Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav (; born Musa Qassab; 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician and was the president of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its Cabinet of Israel, cabinet. He ...
, the President of Israel
The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...
at the time.
On June 16, 2004, Ben-Gurion University
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli national founder David Ben-Gurion, the university was founded in 1969 and currently has f ...
in the Negev
The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
awarded Tali Hatuel a posthumous Masters of Arts degree in Social Work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
, and granted her husband a Masters of Arts in Jewish Philosophy.
On July 25, 2004, Hatuel's husband David was given a place of prominence near the Western Wall
The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...
in the human chain from the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
to Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
protesting against Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in which over 130,000 Israelis took part.
On August 22, 2005, the day Katif was evacuated, David Hatuel addressed the settlers, defining the day as one of destruction and expulsion, thanking his fellow residents for their support after the murder of his wife and children, adding: "We are going through a crisis, an unfathomable hardship; but we will not despair and we will not fall." In December of the same year, he married Limor Shem-Tov, an occupational therapist, stating: "I have two options, either to collapse or to continue living. I have chosen life! My new home is an addition and not a replacement of the home that was destroyed. I am like a tree whose branches were cut off and now they are growing again." He and Shem-Tov had three sons and a daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatuel, Tali
Mass murder in 2004
Deaths by firearm in the Gaza Strip
Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada
Israeli murder victims
Family murders
Terrorism deaths in the Gaza Strip
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine attacks
21st-century mass murder in the Gaza Strip
Israeli terrorism victims
Child murder in Palestine
May 2004 crimes in Asia
May 2004 in Asia
2004 mass shootings in Asia
Mass shootings in Palestine
2004 in the Gaza Strip
2004 murders in Asia
Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2004
2004 road incidents
2000s road incidents in Asia