Tawhid al-Jihad (Gaza Strip)

Jahafil Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad fi Filastin
(Arabic: جحافل التوحيد والجهاد في فلسطين‎‎) Participant in the Gaza–Israel conflict and the Global War on Terrorism
The Shahada flag commonly used by al-Qaeda.
Active	6 November 2008 – present
Ideology	Salafist jihadism Wahhabism
Part of	Al-Qaeda
Allies	Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula
Opponents	United States Armed Forces  Israel Hamas
Battles and wars	Gaza–Israel conflict and the Global War on Terrorism

Jahafil Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad fi Filastin (Arabic: جحافل التوحيد والجهاد في فلسطين‎‎, "The Armies of Monotheism and Jihad in Palestine") is a Sunni Islamist Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula, and is the branch of al-Qaeda in Gaza. The establishment of the group was publicly announced on 6 November 2008, with communiqués vowing loyalty to al-Qaeda, after having "received the messages of Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri." Various forms of the "Tawhid al-Jihad" label have appeared in relation to developments in the Gaza Strip. The size of the group is not publicly known.

Terrorists involved in the April 2006 Dahab bombings in Egypt confessed to Egyptian officials that they had been trained in the Gaza Strip and that they belonged to an organization called al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. An analysis published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs commented on this development that al-Qaeda-related groups in the Gaza Strip had become involved in military operations, the backdrop being repeated calls by al-Qaeda deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri to export military operations from the war in Iraq to other countries in the area.

On 5 February 2011, the leader of a Gazan jihadist group calling itself Jama'at Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, Sheikh 'Ahed Ahmad 'Abd Al-Karim Al-Sa'idani, a.k.a. Abu al-Walid al-Maqdisi, posted a fatwa stating that Jews and Christians may be targeted in lethal attacks such as those of 9/11 because they are "aggressive combatants" and "fundamentally not innocent". The fatwa also stated that it is not permissible to refrain from such attacks for fear of hurting Muslims, "because this would mean stopping the jihad". On March 2, 2011 al-Maqdisi was arrested by Hamas. He was released in August 2012 but was killed in an Israeli airstrike two months later.