In Tunisia, 11 defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of Mohamed Al-Zawari, the Tunisian aviation engineer, and member of the "Qassam" brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas".
The sentencing was announced by defense team member Mukhtar Al-Jama'i via the "Facebook" platform on Tuesday evening, following a session in the criminal division specialized in terrorism cases at the Primary Court in the capital, Tunis.
Al-Jama'i stated that the court issued "life sentences (for life) to defendants none of whom attended, and all of whom are in flight". The 11 defendants were tried for the premeditated murder of Mohamed Al-Zawari.
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The defendants are: Eirik Sara and Alan Kamzic, who executed the operation, holding Bosnian nationality, in addition to six other foreigners, and three Tunisians, as revealed by Tunisian authorities earlier.
Who is Mohamed Al-Zawari?
Al-Zawari was assassinated at the age of 49, on December 15, 2016, in front of his house in Sfax, southern Tunisia, as he was preparing to get into his car.
At that time, the executors fired 20 shots at the martyred engineer who was then working on a doctoral thesis project on creating an unmanned submarine.
Al-Zawari had joined the ranks of the Palestinian resistance and had joined the "Qassam brigades" ten years before his martyrdom.
Following his assassination, the "Hamas" movement announced Al-Zawari's affiliation with its military wing, the Qassam brigades, and his supervision over a project to develop unmanned aircraft named "Ababil1".
The movement then accused the Israeli external intelligence agency (Mossad) of assassinating him, and Tel Aviv usually remains silent in many assassinations it commits.
Al-Zawari and his suicide drone
Al-Zawari's suicide drones participated in the "Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7, 2023, as announced by "Qassam brigades" through its official website.
"Qassam" released a video clip showing masked fighters launching the drones, which rise and reach hypothetical targets and explode upon them.
"Al-Zawari" is a suicide drone that began its first missions as a reconnaissance plane in 2015 during a ceremonial organization by the "Hamas" movement, while its first actual combat appearance was on May 19, 2021, during the "Battle of the Sword of Jerusalem".
This drone carries on board small explosive combat missiles, and its small size and low thermal footprint allow it to approach the target more closely without being detected, thus it strikes its targets with precision and from a distance.
