The Israel-Palestine conflict has been marked by a long history of violence and controversial tactics. One such was the ‘Hannibal Directive‘, which allows for the use of excessive force to prevent the capture of soldiers, even if it puts the lives of hostages at risk. Another example of Israel’s unorthodox methods is the 1978 assassination of Palestinian commander Wadie Haddad, who was killed by Mossad agents using poisoned toothpaste. 

Background

Wadie Haddad, the chief of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was involved in several high-profile attacks, including the 1976 hijacking of an Air France plane, known as the Entebbe Hijacking. The hijackers took the plane from Tel Aviv to Paris, but diverted it to Libya and then Uganda.

Israel responded with Operation Thunderbolt, a rescue mission led by Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The mission succeeded, but  Lt Col Netanyahu died in the process. 

Wadie Haddad on Mossad’s ‘Kill List’

The Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, wanted revenge for the Entebbe Hijacking. Wadie Haddad, the mastermind behind the hijacking, was their top target. After gaining international recognition, Wadie Haddad became a priority on Mossad’s Kill List.

‘Agent Sadness’

To avoid a messy execution, the Mossad chose a quiet method. They assigned the mission to an agent known as ‘Agent Sadness’, who had access to Haddad’s home and office. 

The execution

On January 10, 1978, Agent Sadness replaced Haddad’s regular toothpaste with a specially prepared toxic version. The toxin, developed at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, would go on to penetrate Haddad’s mucous membranes and gradually build up to a fatal dose. 

Wadie Haddad’s illness

By mid-January, Wadie Haddad fell gravely ill in Baghdad. His symptoms were severe, consisting of abdominal spasms, loss of appetite and rapid weight loss of over 25 pounds. Despite treatment by top Iraqi doctors, his condition continued to deteriorate and he was diagnosed with hepatitis, then a severe cold. Even powerful antibiotics had no effect. His hair started falling out, raising suspicions of poisoning.

Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, sought help from the East German Secret Service, the Stasi.

The Stasi airlifted Wadie Haddad to East Berlin and admitted him to a secret hospital under the alias ‘Ahmed Doukli’. Doctors tested him extensively, but they could not determine the cause of his illness. They suspected either rat poison or thallium poisoning, without conclusive evidence.

Wadie Haddad’s death

Wadie Haddad’s condition continued to deteriorate, with serious haemorrhaging and a dropping platelet count. Doctors sedated him and kept him in the hospital for ten agonising days, but they could not save him. 

He died on March 29, 1978. 

Autopsy report

An autopsy conducted by Professor Otto Prokop concluded that Wadie Haddad died from brain bleeding and pneumonia caused by panmyelopathy. However, the precise cause of the poisoning remained unclear for years.

It took nearly three decades for the truth about Haddad’s assassination to come out. Aaron J Klein’s “Striking Back” attributes Wadie Haddad’s death to poisoned chocolates, while Ronan Bergman’s “Rise and Kill First” details the toothpaste assassination.

 The Israeli military’s motto, inspired by the Babylonian Talmud, is “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill them first”. 

This guiding principle has driven their actions, including the recent targeting of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran. Since the October 7 attack, Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has killed close to 39,400 people and injured almost 1 lakh others.