The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has announced that its military chief, Mohammed Deif, was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a statement released by spokesperson for the brigades Abu Obeida, it also confirmed that Marwan Issa, Al-Qassam’s deputy chief of staff, had been killed. The US announced Issa’s death in March last year.
Obeida said, “The enemy has assassinated two of our great leaders, but their legacy and resistance will continue.” He also added that the assassination of Hamas military leaders will not stop the Palestinian resistance against Israel.
However, no additional details were provided.
On August 1, 2024, Israel’s military said that it had killed Deif in an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), it posted, “We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated.”
We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 1, 2024
However, Hamas had not confirmed this until Thursday. Israel has accused Deif of being one of the masterminds of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli towns on October 7, 2023. Israel has said that Deif was one of the figures responsible for planning the attacks that killed 1,200 people and 251 were taken hostage.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Deif for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. It also issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes over Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza.
Deif’s real name is Mohammed Diab al-Masri. He was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in 1965. Deif was widely seen as the second-ranking Hamas official in Gaza, behind Yahya Sinwar, the group’s leader in the territory. Yahya Sinwar was also killed by Israeli forces last year.
