Hamas terrorist faces charges 15 years after school bus attack

A lengthy Israeli gag order prevented reporting about Salahieh’s capture and detention for nearly two years.

By World Israel News Staff

A senior Hamas commander who masterminded a brutal 2011 terrorist attack targeting Israeli schoolchildren was captured by Israeli forces during the war in Gaza and is now expected to face criminal charges in connection with the killing.

According to a report by Hebrew-language i24NEWS, Basel Salahieh was the planner of the attack, in which Hamas terrorists fired an anti-tank missile from the Gaza Strip at a school bus carrying Israeli children.

The missile struck the bus after it had stopped at the Sa’ad Junction in the western Negev, near the Gaza border fence. The attack killed 16-year-old Daniel Vilfic, who was among the students traveling on the bus.

Israeli authorities have now reportedly begun preparing to prosecute Salahieh for his alleged role in the attack, more than 15 years after the missile strike.

According to the report, Salahieh fell out of favor with senior Hamas officials several years ago after other members of the organization accused him of betraying Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in 2024 during the war.

Hamas officials subsequently imprisoned Salahieh in a detention facility in Gaza. His circumstances changed after the prison was struck by Israel during the war.

Following the bombing, Hamas officials reportedly transferred Salahieh to house arrest in a Gaza apartment. Israeli forces later raided the apartment and captured Salahieh, bringing him into Israeli custody.

His capture was not immediately reported publicly. For nearly two years, a gag order reportedly prevented Israeli media outlets from publishing information about Salahieh’s detention.

The lifting of restrictions on reporting has now allowed details of his capture and detention to emerge, with Hebrew-language media reporting that Israeli authorities are preparing criminal proceedings against him.

The case centers on the anti-tank missile attack that killed Vilfic, an incident that became one of the most notorious attacks on Israeli schoolchildren from Gaza.

The attack occurred more than 15 years ago, but Salahieh’s reported capture has now given Israeli authorities an opportunity to bring him to justice.