The Israeli military has said the leader was killed in an attack in the Mawasi humanitarian zone that killed 90 Palestinians. Israel considers him, along with Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 and kidnapped 250.
The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday the death of Mohamed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, in an attack on the Mawasi humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13, killing 90 Palestinians.
Deif, considered the enclave’s “number 2” Islamist group after only Yahya Sinwar, has been on Israel’s most wanted list since the 1990s and is responsible for planning and carrying out numerous terrorist attacks.
The leader of the al-Qasam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas) was killed along with his right-hand man, Rafaa Salameh, in a bombardment on the Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of the town of Khan Yunis, which Strip health authorities said left 90 dead and more than 300 wounded.
Until now, the Israeli military has failed to verify the leader’s death, although it said last week that it had “mounting evidence” pointing to his elimination, something Hamas has not yet confirmed.
Israel considers him, along with Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks that left 1,200 dead and 250 kidnapped, leading to the current war in the Gaza Strip in which more than 39,400 Palestinians have been killed.
Born in Khan Yunis in 1965, Deif joined Hamas at the start of the First Intifada in 1987, and after his initial release in 1990, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Islamist group.
In 2000, he was imprisoned again, but escaped. And in 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, he was crowned head of the Al Qasam Brigades, after Israel killed its leader Saleh Shehada; and became the architect of the group’s entire military strategy.
This is Israel’s second blow to Hamas, following the killing yesterday of the group’s top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an attack in Tehran that Iranian authorities attributed to the Jewish state, something the country has neither confirmed nor denied.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
