Mahmoud Mohammed Fares, a Palestinian engineer from the city of Gaza, was born in 1983. In 2007, he joined the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and was one of the leading engineers who manufactured drones.
Martyr Fares designed the first structure of the “Ababil” drone and also created the “Zoar” and “Shihab” drones. The Al-Qassam Brigades honored him with the title of “Sky Knight”. Unfortunately, Israel assassinated him during the “Sword of Jerusalem” battle in 2021.
Early Life
Mahmoud Mohammed Fares was born on June 10, 1983, in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, to a humble family that instilled in their children the love of God and the sacrifice for the liberation of their homeland.
Education and Training
He received his primary education in Gaza City and obtained a scholarship during the Second Intifada to study mechanical engineering in Syria. He studied in Latakia, where he graduated first in his class.
Resistance Path
Fares joined the Hamas movement while he was a student at the University of Latakia in Syria and was an influential figure in the Palestinian student movement there.
In 2005, Hamas’ Military Work Department abroad initiated a project to manufacture drones, seeking capable minds to realize the vision. Fares was one of these minds, and after his graduation, he joined the Al-Qassam Brigades and received training in drone manufacturing in several Arab countries.
Upon his return to Gaza in 2010, he brought with him experiences and expertise to contribute to the drone manufacturing and development project. He played a crucial role in developing new drones such as the “Ababil” drone, which the Al-Qassam Brigades deployed for the first time in the “Eating Glass” battle in 2014, catching the occupation and its intelligence off guard.
Fares also improved the “Shihab” and “Zoar” drones, in addition to the missile engines. He worked on enhancing the military manufacturing capabilities within the Al-Qassam Brigades and had a significant impact on every drone that flew in the skies of the occupation, along with training and sharing his knowledge with the military manufacturing unit in the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Martyrdom
During the “Eating Glass” battle, the Israeli military aircraft targeted one of the manufacturing workshops in an attempt to assassinate Fares, but he survived. His home in Khan Younis was also targeted, and he survived for the second time until the occupation managed to assassinate him on May 12, 2021, in the “Sword of Jerusalem” battle alongside the leader Jamaa Al-Tahla.
