Reem Riyashi
Reem Saleh Riyashi (Arabic: ريم صالح الرياشي Rīm Ṣāliḥ ar-Riyāshī; 1981 – 14 January 2004) was a Palestinian suicide bomber from Gaza City who killed herself and four Israelis at the Erez crossing on January 14, 2004. Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed that the attack by Riyashi was a joint operation mounted as a response to weeks of Israeli incursions into West Bank cities that had left about 25 Palestinians dead.
Unlike most bombers, Riyashi came from a wealthy family. She was the eighth Palestinian female suicide bomber, but only the second to have left behind children. Riyashi was the first female suicide bomber sent by Hamas whose spiritual leader at the time, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin had initially objected to the involvement of women in such actions, altering this position shortly before his assassination by Israel in March 2004. She was the wife of a local Hamas commander and according to Israeli security sources she was involved in a extramarital affair with another Hamas commander from Gaza. Her suicide was ordered by higher-ups in Hamas to punish her for the affair and cleanse her of sin. The male commander was not punished due to Islamic tradition, although he was later assassinated by Israel for his role in the attack.
How did Reem's family react?
A traditional memorial tent was immediately set up by her family near her home in Gaza City. Riyashi's relatives had no explanation for why a mother with children so young would choose to become a suicide bomber. At the time of Riyashi's death, her son Obeida was three years old, and her daughter Doha only 18 months old.
Her brother-in-law, Yusuf Awad said, "I denounce her attack ... I support peace. We don't accept women doing such things. She has two children. It is not right."
Reem's death was also shown on Tomorrow's Pioneers, a children's TV show used by Hamas to broadcast propaganda.