Israel, which has vowed to eliminate the Hamasinsists that all members of the Islamic group have been targeted, but at the top of the list are the two “masterminds” of the unprecedented October 7 attack.

Many attempts have been made in the past to identify and execute o Mohammed Daif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, and Yahya Sinwar, the organization’s political leader in Gaza. This time, the manhunt took a new turn.

“Hamas terrorists have two options: kill themselves or surrender unconditionally. There is no third option,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galand assured.

The Palestinian Islamist group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007 and is considered “terrorist” by the US and the EU, responded that it was “not afraid”.

According to security sources, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed al-Deif are likely hiding in the underground tunnels built by Hamas in the enclave. The two men, who are considered “heroes” by many Palestinians because they embody the armed struggle against Israeli occupation, have been operating behind the scenes for years. Specialist analysts estimate that the organization has a “plan B” if its two leaders are lost.

Especially the Yahya Sinuar, 61, has been targeted by the Israeli army for whom he represents “the face of the devil”, a “programmed” man. He was elected head of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 when his predecessor in office, Ismail Haniya, took over as head of the movement’s political office and then went into self-imposed exile. He had joined the organization in 1987, during the first Intifada.

He graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza and is a staunch supporter of the armed struggle. He learned Hebrew in Israeli prisons where he was held for 23 years. He was serving four life sentences for the murders of two Israeli soldiers when he was released in 2011 as part of a 1,000 Palestinian prisoner swap for French-Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Like Sinwar, Mohammed al-Deif was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Since 2015 his name has been on the US list of most wanted “international terrorists”. Although he is the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, he is not particularly well known. Only one photo of him is in circulation, taken at least 20 years ago. In other photos he appears with his face hidden or in the shadows.

He was born in 1965 and his real name is Mohammed Diab al-Masri. The nickname “al Deif” means “guest” in Arabic and comes from the fact that he never sleeps in the same house for a second night. His wife and at least one of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2014.

Having survived at least six assassination attempts – in one of which he lost an eye – his enemies call him “the cat of seven souls”.

“The rage of our people and nation will break out,” he was heard saying in an audio message broadcast by Hamas on the morning of the October 7 attack.

al-Deif joined Hamas in the 1980s and was arrested during the second Intifada (2000-2005). He escaped or was released from a Palestinian Authority prison in 1999. He became head of Hamas’s armed wing in 2002 and is accused by Israel of organizing suicide attacks, kidnappings and other actions against Israeli targets.

Shinuar, Daif and all other Hamas leaders are all “dead”, assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But as in the past, when Israel killed senior Hamas figures (the spiritual leader Ahmad Yassin and his successor, Abdel Aziz Radisi in 2004), the organization suffered a blow, but was not weakened over time, as is the goal of the Israeli government. Besides, other leading executives are abroad.

“Sinuar and Daif are clearly the priority (of Israel), their loss will strain Hamas, but we can assume that the organization already has an alternative plan,” explained Dr. H.A. Hellier, an international security expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London.