Mohammed Deif, the shadowy Hamas leader who was the target of a major Israeli airstrike in Gaza Saturday, was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 terror attacks on the Jewish state that sparked the ongoing nine-month war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night it is unclear whether Deif was killed in the attack that saw the IDF drop five 2,000-pound bombs in the al-Mawasi area, where thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in tents.
Israeli military officials, however, said they believe their intel was correct that Hamas’ second-in-command in Gaza had been holed in a fenced-off compound that was obliterated in the strike, the Times of Israel reported.
Israel has had Deif, the head of Hamas’ notorious Qasam Brigades military wing, in its crosshairs for decades, having carried out at least seven previous assassination attempts on the elusive leader.
Born Mohammad Masri in the Khan Younis refugee camp in 1965, he took on the nom de guerre Mohammed al-Deif after joining Hamas in 1987 during the First Intifada, when Palestinians carried out violent protests and riots against Israelis.
He subsequently rose through the terror group’s ranks and developed its notorious network of tunnels and as well as its bomb making expertise.
He was imprisoned by Israel in 1989 for roughly 16 months, a source close to Hamas told Reuters.
Since 1995, the shadowy leader has topped Israel’s most-wanted list, following his involvement in planning and carrying out numerous terror attacks on the Jewish state that killed dozens of Israelis.
In 2002, Deif took over as the head of the Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated its previous leader, Saleh Shehada.
Under his leadership, the group expanded its capabilities from that of a small terror group to the fearsome paramilitary force that has been fighting Israel for nine months.
Together with Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Deif is considered the architect behind murderous Oct. 7 terror attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.
Deif is rarely been seen in public, with few photos available online of the terror leader, and has largely kept in the shadows to stay alive.
On the day of the Oct. 7 attacks, Deif issued a video statement supposedly featuring his shadow that alerted the Palestinian people of the barbaric rampage.
“Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding,” he said.
“Our mujahedeen [fighters], today is your day to make this criminal understand that its time has ended.”
Israel carried out at least seven unsuccessful assassination attempts on Deif over the years.
He reportedly suffered several injuries in those attacks, including the loss of one eye.
His ability to evade multiple attempts on his life while continuing to lead Hamas’ military wing has turned Deif into something of a folk hero in the eyes of many Palestinians.
In 2014, Deif narrowly avoided an Israeli airstrike that killed his wife, along with his 7-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter in Gaza.
With Post Wires