Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The top leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, was killed in an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Gaza Strip last month, the IDF announced on August 1.
In a statement, the military said that it obtained intelligence confirming the death of the leader, Mohammed Deif, in the last few hours, without elaborating.
Deif was targeted, according to the IDF, in a strike at a compound belonging to Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades’ Khan Younis Brigade, in the Khan Younis area, on July 13.
The strikes hit the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, which the Israeli military has designated as a humanitarian zone. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 90 civilians were killed and more than 300 others were wounded by the strike.
Just a day later, Salameh’s death was confirmed by the IDF, but the military said it did not have final information regarding Deif.
The IDF believed that its intelligence indicating that Deif arrived at a compound belonging to Salameh was highly accurate, and that the pair were together in the building that was targeted with several heavy munitions.
Israeli fighter jets had patrolled the compound for half a day before the strike was carried out, after the IDF had early indications that Deif had joined Samaleh. At any given moment, two jets were in the air above the site. Once the intelligence that Deif had arrived at the compound was confirmed by the military, the jets were given the order to strike, which was carried out within just a few minutes.
The IDF releases video footage of the strike. The footage clearly shows that civilians were present all around the compound when the strike was carried out.
At the time of the strike, Hamas said in a statement that the Israeli claim that its top military leaders were targeted in al-Mawasi is “false”. The group is yet to comment on the new claims by the IDF.
Deif is said to be the mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel, which claimed lives of over 1,200 Israelis and saw the capture of more than 200 others. The Israeli military responded with a military operation that has so far claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
The new claims about Deif’s death came just a day after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Israel was blamed for the killing, which raised tensions in the Middle East.
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