During the Sabbath, in a targeted strike guided by Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, another attempt - the latest among many- was made to eliminate the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif. This morning, Hamas confirmed that the terrorist identified as Khan Younis's commander, Rafah Salama, was killed in the strike, but did not comment on Deif himself.
Mohammed Deif is considered the number two leader among senior Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip, alongside the organization's commander Yahya Sinwar, and is thus defined by Israel one of the most wanted terrorists on it's hit list. "Deif" means "guest," a nickname given to him because he frequently changed his locations to evade surveillance and assassination attempts.
Deif was born in 1965 in Khan Younis, and joined the Muslim Brotherhood as a teenager. During his studies at the Islamic University of Gaza, he was active in the Islamic Bloc and represented them in the student council. Deif joined Hamas's military apparatus at the start of the First Intifada. In May 1989, he was arrested and sentenced to 16 months in prison.
In 1991, he joined the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, initially as a disciple of Yahya Ayyash, the Palestinian terrorist known as "The Engineer," who served at that time as the head of Hamas's military wing. In 1992, he commanded the cell that kidnapped and murdered soldier Alon Caravani. A year later, he was appointed commander of the organization's military wing in the Gaza Strip. He was later responsible for operating the cells that kidnapped and murdered soldiers Nachshon Wachsman, Aryeh Frankenthal, and Shahar Simani. After the assassination of his mentor Ayyash in 1996, Deif sought to avenge his death with a series of severe terrorist attacks in Israel at the beginning of the year, leading to the deaths of dozens of Israelis, including 58 murdered in one week.
Subsequently, Deif went underground but quickly returned to plan numerous attacks from the Gaza Strip. He was later appointed as the deputy to Salah Shehadeh, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. In the summer of 2002, after Shehadeh was killed, Deif took over the leadership of Hamas's military wing.
Deif has evaded numerous Israeli assassination attempts: in July 1998, he escaped from a force of the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, which was ambushing him just a few meters away near the Philadelphi Route. In August 2001, an attempt was made to kill Deif along with other senior Hamas officials, but this attempt failed.
In September 2002, an IDF attack helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at Deif's car, as he was returning from a condolence visit in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza. After several hours of conflicting reports regarding his fate, it was revealed that Deif had not been killed but was severely injured, losing an eye and injuring his hand. Following a secret rehabilitation and treatment process by doctors smuggled into Gaza, he returned to activity in early 2003.
In September 2003, another assassination attempt targeted the entire Hamas military leadership in an apartment in Gaza, including Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and the movement's spiritual leader at the time, Ahmed Yassin. Fighter jets bombed the apartment on the wrong floor, and the leaders emerged almost unscathed.
In July 2006, Deif was severely injured in an airstrike on the house where he was staying. The IDF believed that the attack resulted in the amputation of his limbs, confining him to a wheelchair. Former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter claimed that upon his departure from his role, Deif was no longer functional and was partially paralyzed. These assessments were disproven at the start of the current war, when footage of Deif walking on his legs was published. Deif received treatment in Egypt and returned to Gaza after three months. In his absence, Ahmed Jabari took command of Hamas's military wing, and he was assassinated at the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense.
During Operation Protective Edge, there were two additional assassination attempts against Deif, resulting in the deaths of several of his family members. Israeli intelligence unofficially estimated that the head of Hamas's military wing was also killed. A year later, it was confirmed that Deif was still alive and functioning. During Operation Guardian of the Walls, there were two more failed assassination attempts against him.
Deif is considered the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the surrounding settlements, encouraging the terrorists in their acts of massacre and calling on Israeli Arabs to act against Israel. At the start of the current war, IDF forces captured computers inside the Gaza Strip, revealing that all the assumptions about Deif's condition were wrong - he is not confined to a wheelchair, and his health is good.
