WhatsApp Brief

Hamas commander behind deadly Israeli school bus attack faces justice

Nearly 15 years after a laser-guided Kornet anti-tank missile tore into an Israeli school bus near Kibbutz Sa’ad, close to the Gaza border, Israel is preparing to indict Basel Salahieh, the senior Hamas military operative accused of masterminding the deadly attack.

The tank-killing missile, capable of penetrating modern armor, was deliberately fired from Gaza at the yellow school bus in April 2011, killing 16-year-old Daniel Viflic and wounding the driver. Dozens of children had stepped off the bus only minutes earlier, narrowly averting what could have become a mass slaughter of Israeli schoolchildren.

In an extraordinary twist, Salahieh was later imprisoned by Yahya Sinwar following an internal Hamas feud. After his Gaza prison was struck during the war, Hamas moved him to house arrest—where IDF troops eventually captured him alive. Now, nearly 15 years after the attack, he is set to face Israeli justice.

Share
Published by
David Aghiarian
Tags: Basel Salahieh Daniel Viflic Hamas Kibbutz Sa’ad Yahya Sinwar

Recent Posts

  • Videos

WATCH: ‘Control over Hormuz is the greatest spoil of the war,’ says former Iranian deputy FM

Former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Larijani demanded that the United States pay reparations as…

4 hours ago
  • Arab-Israeli Conflict

Israel allows Board of Peace to begin Gaza reconstruction despite failure to disarm Hamas – report

Israel's prime minister and defense minister reportedly okayed US-backed initiative to begin rebuilding the Gaza…

4 hours ago
  • Middle East

Syria will take back control from Russia of 2 key Mediterranean bases under a new deal

Moscow did not interfere during the lightning insurgency that led to Assad's overthrow, but it…

5 hours ago
  • Videos

WATCH: Teen wears anti-Israel T-shirt while visiting Mauthausen concentration camp

A teenage boy was spotted wearing a t-shirt reading 'Free Palestine' that depicted a terrorist…

5 hours ago
  • World News

UK probes Hamas-linked and pro-Israel charities

The United Kingdom considers Israeli presence in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan to…

5 hours ago
  • Middle East

Arab states plotted to lull Israel into false sense of security with peace deal – report

'Behind all these conceptual agreements are lies and deception,' Ben-Gvir said.

5 hours ago