Muhammad Deif: Oct. 7 architect evaded Israel for decades, survived 7 bids to kill him
Key orchestrator with Yahya Sinwar of massacres nine months ago, his ability to frustrate Israel’s formidable security apparatuses for so long made him a near-mythical figure
Israel on Saturday morning carried out a major airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip that it said targeted the commander of Hamas’s military wing, Muhammad Deif, as well as the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. While Hamas said dozens of people were killed, Deif’s fate remained unknown as of the early afternoon.
It was Israel’s eighth attempt to eliminate the shadowy leader of the terror group’s armed wing, known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who was key to its transformation from a small terror group into a significant paramilitary force. Deif managed to evade and survive multiple attempts on his life between 2001 and 2021, though he was seriously injured in two of them, and his ability to frustrate Israel’s formidable security apparatuses for so long made him something of a mythical figure for Palestinians as well as Israelis.
Deif, along with Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, was an architect of Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, when thousands of terrorists broke through the border and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while taking 251 people hostage to Gaza. He had topped Israel’s most-wanted list since 1995 for his involvement in the planning and execution of a large number of terror attacks, including many bus bombings in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in Khan Younis, the terror leader became known as Muhammad Deif after joining Hamas during the First Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.
He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention.
Deif earned a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology. He displayed an affinity for the arts, heading the university’s entertainment committee and performing on stage in comedies.
Rising up the Hamas ranks, Deif developed the group’s network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise. He was held personally responsible by Israel for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings in the 1990s.
For Deif, staying in the shadows was a matter of life or death. Hamas sources told Reuters he lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel’s assassination attempts.
His wife, seven-month-old son, and three-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2014.
His survival while running Hamas’s armed wing earned him the status of a Palestinian folk hero. In rare video appearances, he was masked, or seen only as a shadow.
For many years, the belief in Israel was that Deif had been severely crippled by assassination attempts, may have lost multiple limbs and was confined to a wheelchair. However, new photos captured by Israeli forces in Gaza in late 2023 amid the war showed Deif to be relatively whole, and seemingly functioning.
In the undated photos, Deif appeared to be relaxing outdoors alongside an unidentified man while holding a plastic cup filled with a dark liquid in one hand and a US dollar bills in the other, looking at his watch. In the photos, both his arms were visible, though he did appear to be missing an eye. Two pairs of shoes were seen behind the two men.
The Ynet news site reported at the time that the photos were from 2018 and likely taken during a social event.
A report in the Maariv daily on December 20 claimed that video evidence uncovered by IDF troops in Gaza depicted Deif walking without assistance, albeit with a slight limp. According to Ynet, Israeli officials believed Deif sometimes still used a wheelchair as a result of injuries sustained in attempts on his life, and was playing an active role in commanding the fighting in Gaza.
The last two known attempts to eliminate Deif, according to the military, occurred in May 2021 when Israel and Gazan terror groups fought in an 11-day flare-up known as Operation Guardian of the Walls.
Prior to 2021, Israel had tried to kill Deif during the 2014 war in Gaza, but narrowly missed, killing instead his immediate family members.
The other assassination attempts took place in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006, the last of which was previously believed to have resulted in the loss of his legs.
As Hamas launched its unprecedented assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, Deif put out a video statement to the Palestinian public regarding what Hamas was calling Operation Al Aqsa Flood.
“Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding,” he said. “Our mujahedeen [fighters], today is your day to make this criminal understand that its time has ended.”
