On 21 August 2003 , Shanab and his two bodyguards were hit and killed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike while travelling by car in Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City . In the attack , an Apache helicopter fired three or four missiles at the car . The assassination occurred in retaliation for the suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus on 19 August 2003 , killing twenty mostly orthodox Jews , including six children . Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement after the assassination and described Shanab as a senior terrorist and Hamas operative
suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus
Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing
Ismail Abu Shanab