Israel said it killed a top Hamas military commander who was one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack in an airstrike last month in Gaza.
Mohammed Deif, 58, who for decades led the Qassam Brigades that carried out dozens of suicide attacks in Israel, was killed July 13, the Associated Press reported.
He was targeted while in a compound belonging to the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade, the Times of Israel reported.
The report, citing information from the Israel Defense Forces, said pressure on Hamas by the Israeli military forced Deif to move from the underground tunnels where he had been hiding to the Khan Younis compound.
We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 1, 2024
Once Israel received intelligence confirming Deif's presence, fighter jets that had been patrolling the compound carried out the strike, the Times of Israel reported.
On Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Haniyeh, Israeli officials have said they are determined to wipe out Hamas leadership because of the Oct. 7 attack.
Haniyeh had come out of hiding in Qatar to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president.
