Ahmed Yassin, the co-founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 22, 2004, as he left a mosque in Gaza City. Yassin, who was paralyzed from the waist down and used a wheelchair, was targeted through the use of Hellfire missiles launched from an Israeli military helicopter. The strike resulted in the deaths of Yassin, two of his bodyguards, and nine civilian bystanders, escalating tensions further between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

This assassination occurred amidst a backdrop of ongoing conflict and violence in the region, where Hamas had been actively involved in militant actions against Israeli forces. The act was described by Israeli officials as a preemptive measure to thwart imminent attacks planned by Hamas. Yassin’s death was met with widespread grief and outrage within Palestinian society and was seen as a martyrdom by many of his supporters.

The assassination led to immediate retaliatory strikes by Hamas and heightened military responses from Israel, escalating the cycle of violence in the area. It underscored the fragility of the peace process and highlighted the contentious nature of targeted killings in asymmetric warfare, raising questions about their legality and morality. The incident had lasting repercussions on the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.