Israeli security officials believe that October 7 terror planner Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli attack

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli security officials believe a rare operation on a Saturday, Israel’s Sabbath, has eliminated Mohammad Deif, head of Hamas’s military wing and mastermind of the Oct. 7 atrocities that left 1,200 Israelis dead and kidnapped scores more, including Americans and foreign workers.

Another architect of the massacre, Rafaa Salama, commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigades, is also said to be dead, along with “dozens” of Hamas terrorists. Israel believes there were no hostages in the area of ​​the attack.

A statement from the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday afternoon said: “In a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces and the ISA based on accurate intelligence, the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command and the Israel Air Force carried out an attack in an area where two senior Hamas terrorists and other terrorists were hiding among civilians.”

The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 90 people were killed and 300 injured in the operation.

As the military conducted a situation assessment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, claiming the government was “finishing off” the hostages. Some accused the prime minister of planning the operation to disrupt the protests.

In a press conference on Saturday evening, Netanyahu assured the hostages’ families: “We are not giving up on anyone.” Regarding a deal with the hostages held by Hamas, Netanyahu said there had been recent progress toward an agreement, but before that there had been little progress “because the military pressure was not enough.”

Netanyahu reminded reporters that he sent Israeli forces to Rafah despite strong objections from the Biden administration. The result, he said, was the deaths of 900 terrorists in Rafah, the capture of the Philadelphia Corridor and dozens of Hamas fighters killed elsewhere in Gaza.

The Prime Minister claimed: “There has been a reduction in arms supplies (from Washington), and that is an understatement.”

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