Bio

Abd al-Hadi Rafa Ghanim was born around 1964 and was a resident of the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He became associated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed Islamist organization designated as a terrorist group by Israel and other states.

Not much is publicly known about his early life, education, or family. At the time of the attack, Ghanim was 25 years old and known to Israeli intelligence as a militant operative of the group.

Murder Story

On 6 July 1989, Ghanim boarded Egged Bus No. 405, a crowded commuter line traveling from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem along Highway 1. As the bus passed near Neve Ilan, Ghanim suddenly attacked the driver, seizing control of the steering wheel. He then deliberately drove the bus off a steep cliff in the Qiryat Ye’arim area, sending it plunging into a ravine.

The bus rolled down the embankment, crashing into the rocky terrain and bursting into flames. Some passengers were killed instantly, while others were trapped and burned alive. The impact and fire caused the deaths of sixteen civilians, among them two Canadians and one American. Twenty-seven others were injured, many of them seriously.

Local yeshiva students from Telz-Stone rushed to the scene after hearing screams, administering first aid and helping with rescue efforts. One of the responders, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, would later go on to found ZAKA, Israel’s well-known volunteer rescue and recovery organization.

The attack marked a significant milestone in Israeli-Palestinian conflict history. It was the first major attack labeled a Palestinian suicide operation, although Ghanim survived. He was pulled from the wreckage alive and taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.

Following his recovery, Ghanim was tried in an Israeli court and found guilty on charges including:

• Multiple counts of murder
• Hijacking a public vehicle
• Acts of terrorism

He was sentenced to 16 life sentences—one for each victim killed in the attack. He remained imprisoned in Israel for over two decades.

On 18 October 2011, Abd al-Hadi Ghanim was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. The exchange involved 1,027 Palestinian prisoners being freed in return for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive by Hamas in Gaza for over five years.

Ghanim was among the prisoners returned to Gaza, and his current whereabouts and activities have not been publicly disclosed since.