Rizwan Munir
Mohammed Deif, the military commander of Hamas in Gaza, has once again evaded an Israeli assassination attempt and is reportedly in good health, according to a senior official from the Palestinian group. This statement was made on Sunday, following reports that Deif was the target of a significant Israeli air strike in the southern region of the besieged territory. This air strike resulted in the deaths of at least 90 people and left 300 others injured.
The Hamas official informed AFP news agency that “Commander Mohammed Deif is well and directly overseeing” the operations of the Hamas military wing. Israel, on the other hand, claimed that its bombing of the al-Mawasi camp, a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza, on Saturday was specifically aimed at eliminating Deif, who has been at the top of Israel’s most wanted list for a long time. In response to Hamas’s assertion, Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi, stated in a televised address on Sunday that Hamas is “concealing the results” of the air strike on the compound where Deif was allegedly hiding. Halevi added, “It is still too soon to sum up the results of the attack, those which Hamas is trying to hide.”
Deif, one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s, has been leading the force for over two decades. He is also believed to be a key figure behind the planning of suicide bombings that have resulted in the deaths of numerous Israelis. Israel has identified him, along with Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, as the main architects of the October 7 attack that killed at least 1,139 people in southern Israel and triggered the ongoing war on Gaza.
On the morning of October 7, Hamas released a rare voice recording of Deif announcing the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, indicating that the attack was a retaliation for Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is considered the third holiest site in Islam.
Mohammed Deif, aged 58, is a figure who rarely makes public appearances or speeches. Therefore, when Hamas’s TV channel announced that he would be speaking on October 7, it signaled to Palestinians in Gaza that something significant was about to happen. In the recording, Deif spoke in a calm voice, stating that Hamas had repeatedly warned Israel to cease its crimes against Palestinians, release prisoners, and stop the expropriation of Palestinian land. He declared, “Today the rage of Al-Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen [fighters], today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended.”
Born in 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, which was established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mohammad Masri later became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in 1987. Deif holds a degree in sciences from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry, and biology. During his time at the university, he led the entertainment committee and frequently performed on stage.
In 1989, during the height of the first Palestinian Intifada, Deif was arrested by Israel and spent 16 months in detention before being released. He rose to prominence within Hamas and became the head of the Qassam Brigades in 2002 after Israel assassinated his predecessor and the founding leader, Salah Shehadeh. Following his succession, several attempts on his life began. The name “Deif,” meaning “visitor” or “guest” in Arabic, reflects his constant movement to evade Israeli forces. Reports indicate that Deif lost an eye and sustained severe injuries to one leg in one of these assassination attempts. His ability to survive while leading Hamas’s armed wing has turned him into a “folk hero” among Palestinians.
Over the past 30 years, Deif has climbed the ranks within Hamas, contributing significantly to the development of the group’s tunnel network and bomb-making capabilities. In August 2014, an Israeli air strike targeted a house in Gaza where Deif’s family was staying, resulting in the deaths of his wife and seven-month-old son.
In May, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he had sought arrest warrants for Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, and another prominent Hamas figure in connection with the October 7 attack. Additionally, arrest warrants were issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to Israel’s retaliatory actions, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 38,584 people. Human rights organizations have described these actions as an ongoing genocide.
