Israel mentioned it had killed Deif in an air assault in July, however Hamas didn’t affirm his loss of life till Thursday.
Hamas says its prime navy commander Mohammed Deif has been killed.
The Israeli navy had mentioned it killed Deif in an air assault in July, however the Palestinian group had not confirmed his loss of life till Thursday.
The spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, mentioned his loss of life was “befitting”.
“That is befitting of our chief Mohammed Deif, who exhausted the enemy for greater than 30 years,” Abu Obeida mentioned.
“How, by God, might Mohammed Deif be talked about in historical past with out the title ‘martyr’ and with out the medal of martyrdom?” Abu Obeida requested.
Deif was one of many founders of the Qassam Brigades within the Nineteen Nineties and led the pressure for greater than 20 years. He’s reported to have deliberate assaults resulting in the deaths of dozens of Israelis. Deif was additionally believed to have developed the group’s community of tunnels and its bomb-making experience.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas issued a uncommon voice recording of Deif asserting the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, signalling the Hamas-led assaults that day on southern Israel have been a response to Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest website.
In November, the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) determined issued an arrest warrant for Deif “for alleged crimes in opposition to humanity and battle crimes”.
The ICC additionally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged “crimes in opposition to humanity and battle crimes” over Israel’s conduct of its battle in Gaza.
Abu Obeida additionally mentioned deputy navy commander Marwan Issa was additionally killed and introduced the deaths of a lot of different commanders, together with Ghazi Abu Tamaa, the commander of weapons and fight companies; Raed Thabet, commander of manpower and head of the provides unit; and Rafei Salama, the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade.
Israel mentioned it killed Issa in March. On the time, senior Hamas officers had instructed Al Jazeera that the group’s political bureau had not obtained proof of Issa’s loss of life.
