JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The top of Hamas’ army wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza final month, the Israeli army mentioned on Thursday, a day after the group’s political chief was assassinated in Teheran.
“The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) declares that on July thirteenth, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck within the space of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence evaluation, it may be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eradicated within the strike,” the army mentioned.
Hamas didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the Israeli announcement, which got here as crowds gathered in Teheran for the funeral procession of Hamas’ chief Isamil Haniyeh.
Deif is believed to have been one of many masterminds of Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza warfare, now in its three hundredth day.
Considered one of Hamas’ most dominant figures, Deif rose by way of the group’s ranks over 30 years, creating its community of tunnels and its bomb-making experience.
He has topped Israel’s most needed record for many years, held personally answerable for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-MughrabiEditing by Gareth Jones)
