Mohammed Deif, a Hamas military commander, was killed in Khan Younis over two weeks ago [Getty/file photo]
The Israeli military on Thursday announced that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif had been killed in a strike it carried out last month in Gaza’s southern area of Khan Younis.
The military’s confirmation it had killed Deif comes a day after the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was announced by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hamas.
“The IDF (Israeli army) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” a military statement said.
“Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre,” the military claimed regarding the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Health authorities in Gaza said at the time of the July 13 strike that it killed more than 90 people.
Israel’s war in Gaza, ongoing for 300 days, has killed at least 39,480 Palestinians since October 7, with thousands more feared to be trapped under rubble. Israel’s military onslaught has been described as a genocide by leading NGOs, UN agencies and several world leaders.
The suspected 2,000-pound bomb (900 kilogrammes) around the house where Deif was said to have taken refuge with one of his deputies had left a giant crater.
The head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, Deif had been among Israel’s most wanted man for nearly three decades and on a US list of “international terrorists” since 2015.
The military claimed Deif had over the years carried out several attacks against Israel.
Deif operated along with Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, the military said.
Deif’s death came two weeks before senior Hamas figure Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel in Tehran, on Wednesday.
