Israel claimed on Thursday that it killed Hamas’ top military commander, Mohammad Deif, during a strike earlier in July.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched a strike in Gaza on July 13 while targeting two top Hamas leaders. Deif, who the IDF said was the mastermind behind the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, was one of the targets.
“Mohammed Deif, the top military commander of Hamas, was the target of an Israeli strike today in al-Mawasi,” two Israeli sources told Fox News Digital after the attack.
There was no confirmation of Deif’s death until Thursday.
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“Muhammad Deif, the ‘Osama Bin Laden of Gaza,’ was eliminated on 13.07.24,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement. “This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war.”
According to the IDF, Deif initiated, planned and executed the October 7th terror attacks along with Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza. Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza.
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“Over the years, Deif directed, planned, and carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF said. “Deif operated side-by-side with Yahya Sinwar, and during the war, he commanded Hamas’ terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas’ Military Wing.”
Israel on Tuesday said that it killed Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. On Wednesday, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated while he was in Tehran, Iran.
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Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for Wednesday’s strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh.
The assassinations of Hamas’ two most senior leaders is a victory for Israel, which has promised to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas’ military capabilities are eliminated. However, the strikes further complicate ceasefire negotiations pushed for by the Biden-Harris administration. Iran has vowed revenge for the strike that killed Haniyeh.
In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the southwest corner of the territory, with limited food and water.
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Deif was one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s and led the unit for decades. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel and often did.
Deif operated behind the scenes in Gaza and never appeared in public. He was seldom photographed and his voice only rarely heard in audio statements. He had survived several Israeli assassination attempts before his ultimate demise in July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.