Israel bombs Hamas military mastermind behind October 7 attack

AAT LEAST SEVEN Israel attempted to assassinate Muhammad Deif for the third time and failed. On the morning of July 13, the Israel Defense Forces (Israel Defense Forces) believe they have finally tracked down the commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Their target is said to have holed up in a small complex west of Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip. Fighter jets dropped 900 kg bombs, destroying the complex and everything inside.

Without definitive confirmation, Israel will not claim it has killed the second most powerful Hamas figure in Gaza, but security sources say there is a “high probability” that Mr Deif is dead. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, always keen to take credit for every success, quickly issued a statement reminding everyone that he had “given standing orders from the beginning of the war to eliminate the senior Hamas leaders.”

The airstrike on the complex took place in the al-Mawasi “humanitarian zone,” an area to which Israel had previously asked civilians to evacuate. According to Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities, the attack killed at least 71 people and wounded another 289. According to Reuters, staff at the nearest hospital said it was overwhelmed. Hamas says that “all the martyrs are civilians and that this is a serious escalation of the genocidal war, backed by American support and the world’s silence.” It has not directly responded to the suggestion that Israel targeted one of its leaders, calling it a “failed attempt to justify the horrific massacre.”