Mohamed Zouari: The Tunisian engineer behind Hamas drones

A wanted man

Zouari was a relatively unknown figure in Tunisia beyond the confines of youth circles affiliated with the Islamic movement in the tumultuous 1990s.

This era, sometimes referred to as the "Liberation of the Initiative" era, was marred by the arrest of several young men. Some resorted to fleeing the country using counterfeit passports.

Meanwhile, Zouari pursued his studies at the Faculty of Engineering in Sfax (where he was born and raised) in southern Tunisia.

Like many of his peers, Zouari became actively involved in political activities on campus, which served as a significant hub for political engagement and intellectual discourse.

Zouari, with his "youthful appearance" and striking green eyes, hailed from a modest, conservative family. Even as the youngest and most doted-upon son, he faced academic challenges due to his illness.

According to his elder brother Radwan, Mohamed's health condition made attending school independently difficult. Radwan told Al Majalla that his mother accompanied his brother daily for several years until he was strong enough to be left alone.

Despite these health issues, Zouari's outstanding academic performance at a young age fuelled his determination to pursue further education.

Karim Abdel Salam, a former roommate of Zouari's, fondly characterises him as a "brilliant" individual, describing him as both "shy" and "helpful."

Abdel Salam and Zouari shared the same living quarters during a harrowing period in 1991 when they had to elude the authorities. Abdel Salam, too, was pursued and branded as "highly dangerous" by Tunisian security services. He is notably recognised as the mastermind behind the infamous Bab Souika incident, which has been forever etched into Tunisian memory.

A headquarters of the ruling party at the time, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, was targeted and set ablaze, resulting in the tragic deaths of two individuals.

Zouari was wanted due to his association with the Ennahda Islamic Movement and his involvement in the unrest that swept through schools, institutions, and universities during confrontations with the ruling regime.

United by the Islamic movement

In the Daerat Al-Zeit District of Sfax, 15 young men came together in a modest residence, all hailing from various governorates but united by their affiliation with the Islamic movement.

Each of them had their own distinct story, cause, and aspiration. But they were all drawn to the charismatic personality of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Hamas movement, who was serving a life sentence in prison in 1991.

The "mosque uprising", which occurred at the close of the 1980s, had profoundly impacted the youth within the Islamic movement in Tunisia.

As such, the group of men, including Zouari, hatched a plan to escape Tunisia to Libya, seeking a pathway to join the newly established Hamas movement. Preparations were underway, but vigilant security forces swiftly intervened.

Consequently, all the members of the group were apprehended and imprisoned. Zouari, along with two others, managed to escape.

As Abdel Salam tells Al Majalla, "Mohamed surprised everyone, including his friends, when he ... attacked a security officer and broke free from prison, subsequently going into hiding before eventually fleeing to Libya."

Zouari took up residence in Libya for several months before going to Sudan — a refuge that welcomed many Islamists.

His time in Sudan marked a key juncture in his life, leading to a profound transformation. He engaged in self-reflection alongside a group of young men who found themselves persecuted by security forces due to their involvement in the "Liberation of the Initiative" movement – a cause that the Ennahda Movement later distanced itself from.

Thousands of young men, aged between 15 and 26, found themselves incarcerated and handed severe sentences, leaving behind entire families that were now stamped as terrorists.

Zouari's dispute with Ennahda

Zouari's disagreement with Ennahda stemmed from his refusal to accept their abandonment of his "brothers."

The limited reliable accounts of this period suggest that Zouari paid a heavy price for his insistence on accountability within the movement. He also called out financial corruption and an unequal distribution of benefits to immigrants.

Living in the diaspora seemed to have exposed Zouari to the falsehoods behind the struggle. In the end, he saw it not as a "cause of the Nation," but rather a fight for dominance in which young men were used as pawns, according to testimonies.

Zouari's relationship with Ennahda and the world of politics eventually came to an end. This "disengagement" had repercussions on everyone who knew him. Zouari was known to exhibit a dignified demeanour and charisma that left a deep impact on people's hearts and minds.

However, Zouari endured mistreatment and violence. He found himself living in the impoverished alleys of Sudan, a far cry from the promising future that his extraordinary academic performance had once foretold.

This was particularly disheartening as he was on the cusp of graduating as a mechanical engineer.

Those who lived through that turbulent era and consider themselves "victims of the confrontation" explain that Zouari "distanced himself from politics not because he experienced grievances or rejected favouritism and personal or financial calculations, but because he carried a cause close to his heart and would not settle for half-hearted positions."

His thoughtful, resolute gaze bore the marks of years spent travelling, during which he had to assume different identities. While he excelled academically and basked in scholastic glory, he did not attain a degree under his true name.

According to Abdel Salam, his most well-known alias was "Murad al-Tunisi".

Gaining a full picture of Zouari's life is challenging at best, given his extremely discreet nature. His family only discovered his association with Hamas on the day of his assassination. He spoke sparingly, and his voice was scarcely heard. His reserved nature made it difficult for new acquaintances to trust him, but his friends regarded him as "pure and untainted".

During his time in Sudan, he ventured to Bosnia and Herzegovina to support its Muslim population during the war from 1992 to 1995, staying there for several months.

He later returned to Sudan and remained there until 1996, obtaining Sudanese citizenship and establishing connections with Islamic movements of various nationalities.

He utilised mosques as platforms for networking, including within the Palestinian network. It was from there that his journey with Hamas began.

Various aliases

In the early years of the new millennium, Zouari embarked on a journey that took him to various capital cities, wielding a passport under the name "Murad."

Zouari's involvement with the military wing of Hamas necessitated a deep sense of secrecy.

During this period accumulated more expertise through experiments and trials, one of the most noteworthy being his involvement in "military industrialisation in Sudan," as recounted by an acquaintance.

According to an account provided by the Al-Qassam Brigades, Zouari was recruited in 2006 due to his remarkable proficiency in mechanical engineering, computer science, and military technology—skills that he honed during his time in Sudan.

Zouari became part of the manufacturing unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades and was given the opportunity to further enhance his abilities through intensive training programmes, notably in Syria and Iran.

These courses spanned approximately six months, after which he underwent further assessments alongside the Al-Qassam team.

Subsequently, Zouari relocated to Gaza, where he played a pivotal role in advancing the drone industry, giving birth to the "Ababil-1" drone, first used during Operation Al-Asf Al-Maakoul (chewed-up straw).

His final project was a remotely piloted submarine, which constituted the focal point of his doctoral thesis. However, his assassination prevented its completion, and his thesis was later presented in his honour several months after his tragic death.

Zouari's return to Tunisia followed the downfall of President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali's regime. He sought to continue his academic pursuits at the same university where he had previously excelled.

He earned an engineering degree and simultaneously established the "Southern Aviation Club." This club welcomed young talents from Southern Tunisia who were unaware of Zouari's significant role within Hamas.

He was not the type to boast about his achievements or seek recognition, as attested by those close to him.

Living in the shadows

Zouari deliberately lived in the shadows, scarred by the hardships of his younger years. Returning to Tunisia wasn't without its challenges, as he faced various forms of persecution, according to his friends' accounts.

Some told Al Majalla that Zouari had even contemplated settling in Malaysia; a year before his assassination, he had voiced concerns about being pursued and monitored by intelligence agencies.

In his hometown of Sfax, he faced administrative harassment, which forced him to leave Tunisia every six months to renew his Syrian wife's residency.

After he was killed, she eventually married a Tunisian in an attempt to obtain citizenship. Despite assurances from high-ranking officials, the realisation of this goal remained unclear, as reported by Zouari's acquaintances.)

While Zouari was still alive, his wife was denied citizenship, and Zouari faced the looming threat of being denied an engineering degree. This presented a significant hurdle during the rule of the Nidaa Tounes Party and Ennahda.

In the aftermath of Zouari's assassination, the Tunisian government maintained a conspicuous silence, refraining from taking a stance for several days.

However, mounting public pressure and a barrage of severe criticism compelled President Youssef Chahed to assert that "Tunisia will not let the martyr Mohamed Zouari be forgotten."

Years following the tragic assassination of Zouari, his brother Mohamed told Al Majalla that influential political parties had colluded in the crime of his killing, facilitating the actions of the perpetrators – and Mossad agents – who executed it right in front of his house.

He further disclosed that his brother's defence team was diligently investigating the case and had acquired information suggesting that Zouari's name was on Mossad's list of wanted individuals for assassination.

Supposedly, this list was ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after Zouari's success in the "remotely piloted submarine" project.