Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An undated photo released by the Israel Defense Forces on January 6, 2024, shows Muhammad Deif (R), the commander of the Hamas terror group's military wing. (Israel Defense Forces)
Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida confirms in a video statement that Muhammad Deif, the once-elusive commander of the terror group’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli strike over the summer.
Until now, Hamas had denied that Deif was killed in the July 13 strike.
Israel in the past had repeatedly targeted Deif, and even believed for a time that he had been killed, but only managed to badly cripple the terror chief.
Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli operation targeting Hamas’s shadowy military commander Mohammad Deif in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israel had targeted Deif and Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade chief Rafa’a Salameh in a July 13 airstrike on a Hamas compound, killing dozens in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. The IDF confirmed Salameh’s death a day later, and Deif’s on August 1.
According to a November report, Hamas was initially unable to confirm Deif’s death due to issues communicating with him, and later due to the state of his badly disfigured remains.
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