Israel’s military has said that one of the reported masterminds of the October 7 attacks, Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, was killed in a strike it carried out in southern Gaza last month.
The claim of Deif’s death comes a day after Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran.
An Israeli military official told CNN they received new intelligence in recent hours that gave them the confidence to confirm Deif was killed, nearly three weeks after it carried out the strike in Khan Younis. The official declined to specify the nature of that intelligence.
There was no immediate statement from Hamas. CNN has approached the militant group for comment.
A Hamas official wrote on Telegram that only the group’s military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, is able to confirm or deny Deif’s death. Izzat Al Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said that unless the Al Qassam leadership announces it, “no news published in the media or by any other parties can be confirmed.”
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had conducted a “precise, targeted strike” on a compound where Deif and another commander Rafe Salama were staying. The IDF announced Salama’s death last month.
In recent weeks Israeli officials said they had indications their strike was successful but were not able to confirm that he was killed until now.
The strike targeting Deif in Khan Younis on July 13 hit a designated humanitarian zone, killing at least 90 Palestinians. Footage from the Al-Mawasi displacement camp showed bodies in the street and destroyed tents.
An elusive and powerful figure, Deif is understood to be one of the architects of the October 7 attacks. He led the Palestinian militant group’s armed wing for more than two decades.
Israel has repeatedly stated that one of its main war aims is to eliminate Hamas in Gaza. Deif’s death would make him the highest-ranking Hamas military official killed in the strip since the start of the war more than nine months ago.
Israel says it has killed or captured half of Hamas’s commanders and more than 14,000 combatants since the war began. However, there are clear signs of the group’s resurgence in parts of the strip previously cleared by Israeli forces, who devastated large swathes of the area in the process.
Israeli troops have been drawn back to these previously cleared parts of the territory, fighting pitched battles with Hamas units who were previously declared dismantled.
Meanwhile, the group’s top leadership are likely to have had their communications compromised by the heavy bombardment, according to experts, with units operating more autonomously in their severely degraded form, and employing guerrilla tactics, such as laying booby traps and staging ambushes.
Deif is thought to have been born in the 1960s in the Khan Younis refugee camp, one of a number of such camps established in Gaza at the end of the 1940s for displaced Palestinians denied the freedom to return to their homes by the newly-created state of Israel.
Born as Mohammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, he later became known as “El Deif” or “the Guest” due to his habit of staying in different houses every night for decades to avoid being tracked and killed by Israel.
Deif was at the top of Israel’s most wanted list for decades, with Israel holding him responsible for the deaths of dozens of its citizens. Both the United States and the European Union had him on terror blacklists.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the announcement as a “significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza.”
In a statement on X, Gallant wrote: “The operation was conducted precisely and professionally by the IDF and ISA (Israel Security Agency). This operation reflects the fact that Hamas is disintegrating, and that 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 added.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
