JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group's political leader was assassinated in Tehran.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on July 13, 2024, IDF fighter jets carried out a strike in the Khan Yunis area. Following an intelligence investigation, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said.
Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement, which came as crowds gathered in Tehran for the funeral procession of Hamas leader Isamil Haniyeh.
Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds behind the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the 300-day war in Gaza.
Deif was one of the most important figures in Hamas, rising through the ranks of the group over the course of 30 years, developing a network of tunnels and expertise in bomb-making.
He has been at the top of Israel's most wanted list for decades and is personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi Editing by Gareth Jones)
