The head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Dayef, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said today, a day after the group’s political leader Ismail Haniya was assassinated in Tehran.

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on July 13, 2024, IDF warplanes struck the area of ​​Khan Younis and after an assessment of intelligence it can be confirmed that Mohammed Daif was neutralized in the strike,” the military announced.

Deif, who was 58, is believed to have masterminded the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war, now in its 300th day, and was announced by a Hamas audio message on the morning of October 7, the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation.

One of Hamas’s leading figures, Daef rose through the organization’s ranks over 30 years, developing its network of tunnels and bomb-making expertise.

He has been at the top of Israel’s most wanted list for decades and is considered personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

He had survived seven attempts by Israel to kill him – the most recent in 2021.

According to Hamas sources, he had lost one of his eyes and was seriously wounded in one of his legs in one of the assassination attempts on him.

The Wrath of Al-Aqsa

There are only three photos of Dave: one when he was in his early 20s, one in which his face is hidden because he wears a mask, and one of his shadow, which was used during his October 7 broadcast.

He rarely spoke and never appeared in public. So when the Hamas channel announced that it was going to speak that day, the Palestinians knew something serious was going on.

“Today the anger of Al-Aqsa, the anger of our people and nation exploded. Our Mujahideen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time is up,” he said in his message.

A source close to Hamas says that the decision for the October 7 attacks was made jointly by Daif and Yahya Sinwar (S.T.S.: the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who succeeded Ismail Haniya), but the “architect” was Dave.

“There are two minds, but only one brain,” the source said, adding that information about the operation was known only to a few Hamas leaders.

An Israeli security source said that Deif was directly involved in the planning and operational part of the attack.

Attempted fraud

The plan, as Dave had conceived it, involved a prolonged attempt at deception. Israel was led to believe that Hamas — an ally of Israel’s enemy Iran — was not interested in starting a war and was instead focused on the economic development of Gaza, which it took over in 2007.

But while Israel began providing financial incentives to workers in Gaza, the group’s fighters were being trained, often in front of the Israeli military, the source close to Hamas revealed.

Speaking in a calm voice, Dave said in announcing the attack that Hamas had repeatedly warned Israel to stop crimes against Palestinians, release prisoners and stop the appropriation of Palestinian land. The organization had now decided to “put an end to all this,” he said.

In May 2024, the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he had sought arrest warrants for Deif, Sinwar and another Hamas leader for the October attack and for Netanyahu and his defense minister for his response. Israel.

Both Israel and Hamas rejected the ICC’s charges and said they were opposed to the international court’s announcement equating them despite facing different charges.

Born Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, he became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, the Palestinian uprising that began in 1987.

He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent 16 months in solitary confinement, according to a Hamas source.

Dave had a degree in Physics, Chemistry and Biology from the Islamic University in Gaza, and as a student he headed the student entertainment committee and performed comedy shows.

His wife, 7-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli bombardment in 2014.