Photo: Agence France-Presse Undated photo of the head of Hamas's armed wing, Mohammed Deif.
Agence France-Presse in Jerusalem
Published at 6:22 a.m.
- Middle East
The Israeli military announced Thursday that the head of Hamas's armed wing, Mohammed Deif, had been “eliminated” in a July 13 strike in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with the Palestinian Islamist movement for nearly ten months.
“The Israeli army announces that on July 13, 2024, warplanes carried out strikes in the Khan Younis area, and following intelligence analysis, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated,” a military statement said.
“Deif led, planned and executed the October 7 massacre,” the army added in reference to the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The Hamas government's health ministry in the Gaza Strip had indicated that the July 13 strikes had killed more than 90 people in the Khan Younis area. Younes.
But Hamas had denied that Deif was among the victims.
The leader of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, Deif had been one of Israel’s most wanted men for nearly three decades and had been on the U.S. list of “international terrorists” since 2015.
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According to the Israeli army, Deif carried out several attacks against Israel over the years and operated with Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza.
“During the war, he (Deif) commanded Hamas' terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip by giving orders and instructions to senior members of Hamas' military wing,” the army added.
In the October 7 attack, 251 people were kidnapped, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, of whom 39 died, according to the army.
In response, Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza that has so far killed 39,480 people, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government, which does not provide information on the number of dead civilians and combatants.