Ayman Nofal, a senior commander in Hamas's military wing, returned to Gaza after escaping from prison in Cairo, Egypt. He had been arrested in 2008. Five other terrorists who also escaped from prison in Egypt recently infiltrated into the Gaza Strip through the numerous smuggling tunnels that connect the two.
Nofal was a leader in the Izzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades who describe themselves as the armed branch of Hamas. He was arrested infiltrating into Egypt from Gaza, allegedly while armed.
Izzedeen Al-Qassam was a Syrian terrorist who led riots against Jewish residents in the land of Israel in the 1930s.