Israeli airstrike targets Hamas military chief in Gaza

Shafaq News/ The Israeli military announced, on Saturday, that it targeted Mohammad al-Deif, the military leader of Hamas, in an airstrike on the Mawasi area near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

According to the Jerusalem Post, it is unclear whether al-Deif was injured in the strike, and his condition remains unknown.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed the Israeli reports about targeting al-Deif as "nonsense."

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he gave a standing directive to eliminate top Hamas officials. Netanyahu has been kept informed of all developments overnight and continues to receive regular updates. He is scheduled to assess the situation with security and military officials to discuss further actions.

Israeli media reported that the air force launched intensive attacks on multiple locations in Khan Younis, aiming to eliminate Mohammad al-Deif, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli army radio indicated that al-Deif was hiding above ground in a humanitarian area west of Khan Younis.

The reports also mentioned that Rafe’ Salama, the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade, was among the targets of the Israeli strike.

Israeli media quoted Shin Bet (the Israeli Security Agency) stating that both al-Deif and Salama were above ground at the time of the attack in Khan Younis.

The Israeli security agencies expressed optimism about the operation's outcome. Maariv newspaper reported that the intelligence services received information suggesting that al-Deif had arrived at a tent compound in the Mawasi area and was hiding there.

Consequently, the Israeli military decided to avoid risks and executed a wide-scale bombing campaign, dropping dozens of tons of bombs from fighter jets.

Mohammed al-Deif, one of the masterminds behind Al-Aqsa Flood, is an elusive figure who has rarely spoken and never appeared in public, and who has survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts, according to Reuters.

In the months since Israel launched its war, al-Deif is believed to have been directing military operations from the tunnels and backstreets of Gaza, alongside senior colleagues.

Rising the Hamas ranks over 30 years, al-Deif developed the group's network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise. He has topped Israel's most-wanted list for decades.

Born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Younis Refugee Camp set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the leader became known as Mohammed al-Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.

He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source said.

Al-Deif has a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry, and biology.

Hamas sources said al-Deif lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel's past assassination attempts. His survival while running Hamas's armed wing meant he was viewed as a folk hero by some Palestinians.

His wife, 7-month-old son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2014, as reported by Reuters.