Abd al-Rahman Ghanimat

Abd al-Rahman Ismail Abd al-Rahman Ghanimat, also known as Abu Osama, is a senior Hamas operative in the organization’s command in Turkey. Born in 1972 in the village of Surif, north of Hebron, he was a senior member of Hamas’s West Bank headquarters during the 1990s and was responsible for the southern West Bank, including the Hebron and Bethlehem areas. As part of his activities, he commanded Hamas’s Surif cell, which was responsible for several major terrorist attacks in Israel, including the 1997 bombing at Café Apropo in Tel Aviv. He was captured by Israeli security forces. The principal offenses of which he was convicted included shooting at people, possession of weapons, military training, and membership in an unlawful organization. He was sentenced to five life terms. In 2011, after serving 14 years in prison, he was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange and moved to Turkey, where he worked closely with Saleh al-Arouri. On November 20, 2024, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on him.