Hamas military asserts that Deif still alive

In a televised statement, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing claims — without quite making explicit — that its commander Muhammad Deif is still alive.

The masked spokesman says Israel breached the ceasefire on Tuesday. (In fact, the truce was breached with rocket fire from Gaza.) “You Israel are one big lie,” he says.

He says Deif “has foiled your celebrations for 25 years” — a reference to Deif’s long terrorist career and Israel’s unsuccessful efforts to kill him.

He charts Deif’s course from stones to bombs to suicide bombings to rockets, and boasts that Hamas’s missile capacity “astounded you.” (Hamas has fired some 3,500 rockets at Israel since early July.)

“We promise you that Muhammad Deif will be the military commander of the army who will liberate al-Aqsa,” he declares.

As he speaks, sirens sound in the Gaza border towns.