Hamas confirms death of military leader Mohammed Deif

Hamas confirmed on Thursday that Mohammed Deif, the leader of its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in a July 2024 airstrike in southern Gaza. This confirmation ends months of speculation following Israel’s claim in early August that Deif had died in the strike.

Deif, a key figure behind the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, had been a target of Israeli forces for years due to his involvement in numerous other attacks.

Known for surviving multiple assassination attempts, he gained a near-‘mythical’ status in Gaza. Despite Israel’s announcement in August, Hamas had remained silent on his fate until now, neither confirming nor denying the reports.

What had happened?

On July 13, Israel’s military launched a heavy airstrike on the El-Mawasi area in the western part of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, an area that was previously claimed to be “safe.” The bombardment resulted in the deaths of 90 Palestinians, half of whom were women and children, with hundreds more injured.

The Israeli military claimed that the attack targeted two senior Hamas figures: Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and Rafi Selameh, the commander of the Qassam Brigades in Khan Yunis.

However, Hamas denied that Deif had been killed, accusing Israel of using the deaths of these figures as an excuse to cover up its massacres against Gaza’s civilians.

Who is Mohammed Deif?

Born in 1965 to a Palestinian refugee family in the Khan Yunis camp, Deif joined the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in 1987, at a time when it was just being formed.

During Israel’s heavy assault on Gaza in 1989, Deif was detained and held without trial for 16 months in Israeli prisons. After his release, Deif became an active figure in Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and orchestrated numerous attacks against Israel.

Israel attempted to target him several times, conducting seven airstrikes that resulted in civilian casualties in Gaza, but was unsuccessful in killing him.

In 2014, during its intense bombardment of Gaza, Israel once again claimed to have killed Deif, but those reports were proven to be false.

At that time, the Israeli media referred to Deif as the “ghost commander.” The Israeli security establishment later admitted to its persistent efforts to capture or kill Deif.