After seven failed assassination attempts, the Israel Defense Forces have confirmed that Mohammed Deif, head of Gaza’s Hamas military wing — Al Qassam — has been eliminated, killed in an Israeli airstrike eight days ago. Deif was the Number 2 leader in Gaza’s Hamas terrorist organization, second only to the group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the attack that it could not yet be confirmed “with certainty” that Deif was eliminated.
“But today … we are announcing that the IDF has confirmed that Deif was killed in the attack,” Israel’s Channel 14 News reported on Sunday (July 21).
The IDF carried out a complex targeted assassination about two weeks to eliminate Deif and his own number two, Hamas Brigadier General Rafah Salameh, in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, not far from the Al-Mawasi humanitarian safe zone set up by Israel for internal Gaza refugees.
Salameh was one of the closest associates of Mohammed Deif, the chief of the Al-Qassam Hamas military wing, and was one of the masterminds of the October 7th massacre.
As usual, Deif and Salameh had embedded themselves deep within the civilian population. For weeks, Israeli intelligence watched a villa within the city, waiting for the opportunity to hit Deif, three senior Israeli defense officials told The New York Times.
Finally, eight days ago (July 13), the IDF received intelligence suggesting Deif’s presence at the location.
The intelligence was relayed through command channels to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who authorized the strike. The military received additional confirmation of Deif’s location after 10 am on Saturday, triggering the launch of fighter jets. Israeli forces also carried out a secondary airstrike near emergency responders, preventing anyone from rescuing the two Hamas leaders.
The airstrike was surgically precise but massive, using a 2,000 kilogram bomb known as a “bunker buster” capable of penetrating even a terror tunnel deep underground, decimating the compound and ensuring no one would emerge alive from the site.
Some 70 other people in the surrounding area were also killed, most of whom were identified by the IDF as terrorists.
Although Hamas has acknowledged Salameh’s death, the terror group continues to insist Deif is still alive, saying in a statement that the elusive leader “hears Netanyahu’s statements and laughs.”
The terrorist organization just cannot bring itself to acknowledge that its Number 2 Gaza leader has finally been eliminated by Israel.
