• Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif killed in Gaza air strike, confirms Israel

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    Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif killed in Gaza air strike, confirms Israel
    The statement also noted that Deif was responsible for initiating, planning, and executing the October 7th massacre in southern Israel...

    Digital Desk: The Israeli military announced on Thursday that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in a strike it carried out last month in Gaza’s southern area of Khan Yunis. This confirmation follows the recent killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as announced by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hamas.

    “The IDF (Israeli army) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” a military statement said. The statement also noted that Deif was responsible for initiating, planning, and executing the October 7th massacre in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, according to official Israeli figures.

    Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza reported that the July 13 strike killed more than 90 people, though Hamas initially denied that Deif was among the casualties. The strike, suspected to have involved a 2,000-pound bomb, left a giant crater around the house where Deif was believed to have taken refuge with one of his deputies.

    Deif, the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, had been one of Israel’s most wanted men for nearly three decades and was listed as an “international terrorist” by the US since 2015. Over the years, he had orchestrated several attacks against Israel and operated alongside Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza. During the recent conflict, he commanded Hamas’s terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas’s military wing.

    In the October 7th Hamas attack, militants also seized 251 people, with 111 still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has since killed 39,480 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.