CAIRO: 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.
Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel which triggered the Gaza war.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) 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,” the military said.
Hamas neither confirmed nor denied the killing of Deif, but one official, Ezzat Rashaq, said any word on deaths of its leaders was its responsibility alone.
“Unless either of them (the Hamas political and military leadership) announces it, no news published in the media or by any other parties can be confirmed,” Rashaq said.
The Israeli announcement came as crowds gathered in the Iranian capital for the funeral procession of Hamas’ leader Isamil Haniyeh.
Iran and Hamas have blamed Haniyeh’s killing on Israel, which has neither denied nor confirmed a role in the assassination.
It did however confirm it killed a senior commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in Beirut on Tuesday.