The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that Mohammed Deif, 58, head of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, was killed in an airstrike on July 13.
“We can confirm that Mohammed Deif has been removed,” the IDF tweeted. (Related: Hamas leader killed in airstrike in Iran's capital)
We can confirm it: Mohammed Deif has been eliminated.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 1, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the intelligence as “an important milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as the military and governing body of Gaza, and in achieving the objectives of this war,” and called Deif “Gaza's Osama bin Laden” on Twitter. Gallant vowed that Israel would continue to pursue “Hamas terrorists.”
Mohammed Deif, known as “Gaza's Osama bin Laden,” was killed on July 24, 2013. This marked a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as the military and governing power in Gaza and in achieving the objectives of the war.
The surgery was performed precisely… pic.twitter.com/WCgL5fBkEC
— Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) August 1, 2024
“Deif was the target of an attack on July 13 on the compound of Hamas' Khan Yunis Brigades commander Rafaa Salameh in the Khan Yunis area,” tweeted Emmanuel Fabian, a military reporter for The Times of Israel. Fabian added that Deif “commanded the Izz al-Deen al-Qassam Brigades for over 20 years” and was “the architect of Hamas' October 7th onslaught on Israel, the deadliest attack in Israel's history, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 251 hostages to Gaza.”
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas' military wing, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip last month.
The military said it had received information confirming his death within the past few hours.
Deif was the target of an attack on… pic.twitter.com/eZ9ZyukGJU
— Emmanuel (Manny) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 1, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces released video of the airstrike that killed the Hamas commander.
The Israel Defense Forces released footage showing the deaths of Hamas military wing commander Mohammed Deif and Hamas Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafa'a Salameh in an airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on July 13. https://t.co/wHbytGkx5X pic.twitter.com/GUgxcUsl7E
— Emmanuel (Manny) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 1, 2024
Even before October 7, Deif was wanted by Israel for joining Hamas during the First Palestinian Intifada in 1987, and in 1995 he was added to Israel's list of most wanted terrorists for “his involvement in planning and carrying out numerous terrorist attacks, including numerous bus bombings throughout the 1990s and early 2000s,” according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). I have written In a press release, he said he had survived at least seven assassination attempts over a 25-year period.
Deif was involved in a number of Hamas operations over the years, devising the terror group's strategy to build tunnels for military purposes in the Gaza Strip and driving its strategy to launch missiles into Israel, Ynet reported. reportAccording to FDD, it was the Hamas leader who, in a video statement, called the October 7 operation the “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
