Israel Kills Elected Palestinian Official Faraj al-Ghoul in Gaza Airstrike
In 2007, al-Ghoul was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council for the Change and Reform bloc, representing the Gaza Governorate, receiving more than 71,000 votes.
A Hamas official and Palestinian Legislative Council member, Muhammad Faraj al-Ghoul, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his home in the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Resistance movement announced.
In a statement, Hamas said it mourned “the national leader, member of the Legislative Council and head of its Legal Committee, Muhammad Faraj al-Ghoul, who was martyred in a Zionist assassination that targeted him this morning while he was advocating for and serving his people and their cause.”
🚨BREAKING: Palestinian politician Faraj Al-Ghoul, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/E95SnfYi5S
— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) July 15, 2025
The statement, cited by Al Jazeera Arabic, noted that al-Ghoul previously served as Minister of Justice in the government of the movement’s former assassinated political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, between 2007 and 2012.
The movement said al-Ghoul’s “martyrdom is a loss for Palestine, the resistance project, and Hamas,” and described him as “a committed scholar, a politician steadfast in his principles and positions, and a steadfast resister who carried the burden of his cause since his youth.”
Al-Ghoul was subjected to repeated arrests by the Israeli occupation army “but never wavered”, Hamas said, noting that he was known in “the arenas of advocacy and reform, where he was an eloquent orator and a wise guide.”
Hamas affirmed that “the blood of martyrs will not be in vain, and this crime will only strengthen their resolve for resistance until liberation and return.”
Government Portfolios
Born in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in 1957, al-Ghoul studied law at Cairo University and later earned a master’s degree in international law and human rights from the American University of Beirut, according to Al Jazeera.
This morning, Israel assassinated Palestinian MP Faraj Al-Ghoul in an airstrike in Gaza. Who is Faraj Al-Ghoul? pic.twitter.com/HmgbZRDaCK
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 15, 2025
Al-Ghoul has held several positions in the governments formed by Hamas since its victory in the democratic legislative elections in January 2006. In 2007, he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for the Change and Reform bloc, representing the Gaza Governorate, receiving more than 71,000 votes. He also chaired the Council’s Legal Committee.
Al-Ghoul participated in drafting several pieces of legislation, in addition to participating in legal and parliamentary conferences and events at the local and international levels.
Prisoners’ Rights Advocate
A prominent advocate for prisoners’ rights, he served as Minister of Prisoners and Freed Prisoners, then Minister of Justice in the Hamas government formed by Haniyeh. Al-Ghoul also chaired the government committee charged with following up on the recommendations of the report of the United Nations fact-finding mission formed in 2009 to investigate the conflict in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, Palestine Action, and the End of International Law
In addition, he was the founder of Dar al-Haqq wa al-Qanun for Human Rights and ran a law firm in Gaza.
Al-Ghoul was a close associate of Hamas’ founder, the assassinated Ahmed Yassin, according to Palestinian sources cited by Al Jazeera Arabic.
Ongoing Genocidal Assault
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 57,000, wounding more than 137,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes targeting various areas across the Gaza Strip, as the genocidal war waged by Israel, with US support, continues unabated for the 648th day.
The Emergency and Ambulance Service reported that five Palestinians… pic.twitter.com/ZfzwBKlkjn
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) July 15, 2025
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(PC, AJA)