Ahmed Yassin

Palestinian political and religious leader (1937–2004)

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Fame60.9
Momentum15.4
Activists rank#57
Wikipedia24.8K

Lived 1937–2004, aged 67

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Wikipedia
60 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1937–2004
Aged 67

Summary

Updated 2026-08-17

He founded Hamas in 1987 and led it from a wheelchair — quadriplegic and nearly blind from a teenage accident, yet the spiritual architect of an organization Israel blamed for civilian deaths. His 2004 assassination by Israeli missile strike killed him, his bodyguards, and nine bystanders.

Biography

About

Born in Ashkelon in the 1930s, Yassin's family fled to Gaza City during the 1948 war. A sporting accident at sixteen left him quadriplegic and nearly blind, confined to a wheelchair for life. In December 1987 he founded Hamas, serving as its first Shura Council chairman and de facto leader. Israel held him responsible for attacks that killed civilians. On 22 March 2004, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he left Fajr prayer in Gaza City, killing him, both bodyguards, and nine bystanders. Two hundred thousand attended his funeral.

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