Who Was Mohammed Deif? Hamas Military Chief And Architect of October 7 Attack

Deif was born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

Written by: Victor Dasgupta Edited by: Victor Dasgupta

Published: August 1, 2024, 5:58 PM IST

Share

Share Article

• Facebook
• WhatsApp
• X
• Email
• Telegram
• Linkedin

https://www.india.com/news/world/who-was-mohammed-deif-hamas-military-chief-and-architect-of-october-7-attack-7132216/ Copy

Mohammed Deif

Israel’s army on Thursday confirmed that Hamas’s top military commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli air raid in southern Gaza on July 13. “We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated,” the Israeli military said.

Izzat al-Rashq, a Hamas member, said the news of Deif’s killing was unconfirmed.

“Confirming or denying the martyrdom of any of the Qassam leaders is a matter for the leadership of the Qassam Brigades and the leadership of the movement,” he said on Telegram, referring to Hamas’s military wing.

To recall, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had called Deif “the Osama Bin Laden of Gaza” and hailed his death as “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza”.

“Hamas terrorists may either surrender or they will be eliminated. Israel’s defense establishment will pursue Hamas terrorists – both the planners and the perpetrators of the 07.10 massacre. We will not rest until this mission is accomplished,” he posted on X.

All You Need To Know About Deif:

• Deif was one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades in the 1990s
• Deif led the force for more than 20 years.
• Deif was born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
• He became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.
• Deif developed the group’s network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise and topped Israel’s most wanted list for decades.
• His wife, seven-month-old son and three-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli air raid in 2014.
• The Israeli military regarded him as being part of a three-man military council that planned the October 7 attacks on southern Israel
• In an audio tape broadcast on the same day, Deif named the raid “Al-Aqsa Flood”, signalling it was payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.
• Netanyahu’s government has promised to kill all three leaders, namely Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza; Deif; and Marwan Issa, his deputy, who was reported killed by Israel in March.