Attack on Mohammad Deif, Rafa Salama and Hamas terrorists in Gaza
Mohammad Deif, the leader of the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was the target of an airstrike in the Khan Yunis region of the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli army radio reported on Saturday.
It is unclear whether Deif was hit in the attack, and his current status is unknown. However, the Israeli army told Army Radio that the attack had been thoroughly prepared, that the attack itself was very precise, and that intelligence had opened a window of opportunity just hours earlier.
Army Radio correspondent Doron Kadosh reported that a security source noted that, as far as was known, no hostages were being held at the site of the attack. Two other security sources reportedly said that the attempted assassination of Deif took place when the Hamas leader was above ground and not in a tunnel.
Israeli media reported that Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, was also targeted in the Israeli attack. The Saudi news portal Al Hadath later reported that Salama had been killed.
Army Radio added that Deif and Salama were hiding in a building near the tents of displaced people in the area.
Citing security officials, Army Radio reported that although Israeli forces believed the attack would likely result in dozens of deaths, they carried out the attack anyway.
However, army radio later reported, citing an assessment by the Israeli military, that dozens of those killed in the attack were active Hamas terrorists who had served as security forces for Deif and Salama.
A senior Hamas official described as “nonsense” the Israeli army radio report that an attack on Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Saturday targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
“All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a serious escalation of the genocidal war, backed by American support and the silence of the world,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters, adding that the attack showed Israel was not interested in a ceasefire agreement.
In the wake of the attack, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet (Israeli domestic intelligence) chief Ronen Bar called an operational assessment of the situation, Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported.
According to other reports, a major IDF attack on terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip began on Saturday morning.
In recent hours, the Israeli Air Force has dropped heavy bombs on terror targets in the Khan Yunis area, while ground troops have initiated tactical maneuvers there, Walla reported.
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Reports of civilian casualties
Around 71 people were killed and more than 289 others injured in the attack, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said.
“The Israeli occupation army has committed a major massacre by bombing the tent camps of the displaced people in Khan Younis. In the horrific massacre, over 100 people were killed or injured, including members of the Civil Emergency Services,” said an earlier statement by the Hamas-run government media office in the Gaza Strip.
According to Reuters, the Israeli army said it would investigate reports of dozens of deaths near Khan Yunis.
A correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Mayadeen claimed that due to Israeli forces, hospitals in the region were evacuating patients already admitted to make room for new arrivals.
Who is Mohammad Deif?
Deif was born Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, very close to where Israel launched an attack to eliminate the senior Hamas politician. He later became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first intifada in 1987.
According to an article in Washington PostHe became acquainted with the Muslim Brotherhood as a teenager and reportedly deepened his ties to Islamist movements while studying at the Islamic University of Gaza.
Jacob Eriksson, a specialist in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of York, told France24 that “Deif” means “guest” and refers to his constant traveling – a tactic he uses to survive Israeli attacks. Washington Post suggested in 2014 that he took his name from a character he played during a university performance.
Just two years after joining the terror group, Deif was arrested but spent only 16 months in custody, a Hamas source told Reuters.
Deif built the group’s terror tunnel network and developed his expertise in bomb-making. Hamas sources claimed he had lost an eye and suffered serious injuries to a leg in previous assassination attempts.
Because he escaped numerous assassination attempts, he was called “the man with nine lives” by his fans in the Gaza Strip, based on the saying that cats have nine lives.
Deif was the mastermind behind much of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which the terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others.
Omri Brinner, an Israel and Middle East analyst with the International Team for the Study of Security Verona, told France24 that after October 7, “Deif’s legacy, the most successful in the history of the Palestinian resistance, will live on forever. He can fail now, Israel can assassinate him now: his legacy will outlast him.”
Deif has been considered an international terrorist by the United States since 2015.
This is an evolving story.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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