Israeli military confirms Hamas’ Mohammed Deif killed in strike
The leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades had eluded capture or assassination by Israel for more than two decades.
Two and a half weeks after the Israeli military announced that it had targeted Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, it confirmed on Thursday that he had indeed died in the attack.
Deif was killed July 13 in an Israeli aerial strike on the building in which he was staying in al-Mawasi, an area designated by Israel as a humanitarian zone for displaced persons, near Khan Younis, the city in southern Gaza, said a statement by the Israeli military. Rafe Salama, Deif's second in command and head of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, was also killed in the attack. Salama's death had been confirmed in the hours following the strike.
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported a total of at least 90 dead and 300 wounded in the al-Mawasi attack.
Alongside the statement, the Israeli military posted a short video showing the site near Khan Younis being bombed from the air. Intelligence collected by the army before the attack suggested that Deif and Salama had exited an underground tunnel and entered an aboveground complex owned by Salama. With Deif’s identity confirmed, two jets struck the building with missiles.
