A targeted air strike carried out by the Israeli Armed Forces (in agreement with the Mossad, the intelligence agency and secret service of the State of Israel) has struck in recent days Teherankilling Ismail Haniyehhead of the Hamas Politburo, the organization’s highest decision-making body (read here). The attack was carried out with a guided missile which hit the place where Haniyeh was residing in the Iranian capital, shortly after he attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president.
Hamas confirmed the news with a statement, declaring: “Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, head of the movement, died in a Zionist attack on his headquarters in Tehran.” Haniyeh’s killing represents a significant blow to the radical Palestinian group, which considered him one of the most important figures within the movement.
Haniyeh, as head of the Politburo, was responsible for formulating Hamas’s political strategies and operational decisions, with influence that extended far beyond the borders of Gaza, reaching as far as Qatar, where the Politburo has its official headquarters.
Much has been said about the assassination of the head of Hamas in Iran, attributed to the Mossad. But it is certainly not the first time that Israel has used these methods to eliminate its enemies. Rome, too, was a land of conflict for a time, bitter and bloody.
We talk about it with Maurizio Piccirillijournalist, head of the Rome news desk of the daily newspaper Il Tempo in the 1980s.
Can you tell us how the Mossad operated in the past, especially in Italy?
“In the 1980s, Rome was the scene of a series of targeted assassinations carried out by the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. There was no Hamas yet, but these crimes had a clear objective: to eliminate the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who were operating in Europe.
An example is the murder of Naim Khadera Palestinian diplomat, killed in Brussels in 1981, which is part of a series of similar operations. In Rome, in June 1982, he was killed Poor Zuaiter, an intellectual and representative of the PLO in Italy, assassinated under his home in Monte Sacro by two armed men”.
Were there other similar episodes during that period?
“Yes, several. Another emblematic case is the one that occurred on the morning of June 17, 1982, on the Appian Way, near the intersection with Via Cave. A car exploded at the end of a ramp, killing Husni Abdel Hadi, representative of Yasser Arafat in Italy.
The bomb was detonated by a mercury device, a sophisticated technique used by the Mossad to detonate explosives when the vehicle changes attitude.”
Had this technique been used before?
“Exactly. The year before, at the former Hotel Flora on Via Veneto – the street of the Dolce Vita – another mercury bomb exploded in the bedroom of Majed Abu Sharar, PLO cultural officer.
Again, the goal was clear: to eliminate a leading PLO figure. These types of targeted, lethal attacks were a trademark of the Mossad in those years.”
What is the context in which these murders take place?
“Those were years of great tension between Israel and Palestinian groups. The PLO, which at the time was the main Palestinian organization, had several representations in Italy, including intellectuals and students. The Mossad had identified these people as priority targets, believing that eliminating these individuals could weaken the PLO and reduce its operational capacity in Europe.”
How did the Palestinians respond to these attacks?
“In response to the targeted killings, the Palestinian organization Abu Nidal attacked the synagogue in Rome in October 1982, causing the death of a child and injuring dozens of people.
It was a direct retaliation against the Italian Jewish community, a sign of how high the tension was in those years. This spiral of violence also affected Italy, demonstrating how the war between Israel and Palestinian groups had consequences far beyond the Middle East”.
In those years there was also the 1985 massacre at Fiumicino airport…
“The 1985 Fiumicino massacre, in which a Palestinian commando attacked the airport killing 13 people, is another episode in that long season of violence between Israel and Palestinian groups.
Although not directly linked to Mossad’s targeted killings, this massacre demonstrates how Italy was an important battlefield in the shadow war between Israel and the Palestinians. Attacks on Jewish or Israeli targets in Europe were a direct response to Mossad operations.”
Finally, Maurizio, do you think these targeted killings have had a significant impact on the situation in the Middle East?
“They certainly had an impact. They helped weaken the PLO and keep up the pressure on groups that Israel considered an existential threat.
However, these killings also fueled a cycle of violence that, in many cases, had devastating consequences not only in the Middle East, but also in Europe. The events of those years, including targeted killings and Palestinian reprisals, left a legacy of tensions and conflicts that still shape international politics today.”
