Israel army: Hamas military chief Deif killed in earlier Gaza strike

A handout image released by the Israeli army on August 1, 2024 shows an undated portrait of Mohammed Deif, the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, at an undisclosed location. The Israeli military announced on August 1, 2024 that Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif had been killed in a strike it carried out last month in Gaza’s southern area of Khan Yunis. (Photo by Israeli Army / Agence France-Presse)

JERUSALEM, Undefined — 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 Yunis.

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 the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hamas.

“The IDF (Israeli army) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, 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 said of the Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the death of 1,197 people, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official Israeli figures.

Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza said at the time of the July 13 strike that it killed more than 90 people but Hamas denied Deif was among them.

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The suspected 2,000-pound bomb (900 kilograms) 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 said Deif had over the years carried out several attacks against Israel.

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Deif operated along with Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, the military said.

“During the war, he commanded Hamas’s terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas’s military wing,” it added.

During the Hamas attack militants also seized 251 people, 111 are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign since then has killed 39,480 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not provide details of civilian and militant deaths.