The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday, August 1, claimed to have killed Mohammed Deif, the highest-ranking Hamas military commander in an airstrike on July 13 in southern Gaza.
Confirming the death of Hamas’s top military commander, Israel’s military said that they have received intelligence confirmation that Hamas commander Mohammed Deif was killed in a July 13 air strike targeting him.
“We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated,” the Israel Defense Forces wrote on X.
Shortly after the revelation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed Deif’s reported killing as “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza.”
In his post on X-handle, Gallant branded Mohammed Deif as “the Osama Bin Laden of Gaza”.
“Muhammad Deif, the ‘Osama Bin Laden of Gaza,’ was eliminated on 13.07.24. This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza and in the achievement of the goals of this war,” he wrote.
He said that the killing of Deif “reflects the fact that Hamas is disintegrating.”
“The operation was conducted precisely and professionally by the IDF and ISA. This operation reflects the fact that Hamas is disintegrating and that Hamas terrorists may either surrender or they will be eliminated,” Gallant added.
He further said that Israel’s defence establishment will pursue “Hamas terrorists – both the planners and the perpetrators of the 07.10 massacre.”
“We will not rest until this mission is accomplished,” he added.
The airstrikes on July 13 in southern Gaza killed at least 90 Palestinians, hitting an area that Israel had designated a humanitarian zone for displaced families. Israel claimed that the attack targeted a “Hamas compound” and killed Mohammed Deif, however, Hamas officials denied the assertions at that time.
The big revelation comes a day after Israel reportedly assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital Tehran on a visit to Iran to take part in the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s newly-elected president Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, July 30.
Hezbollah commander killed
It is pertinent to note that senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was also killed in an Israeli strike outside Beirut on the same day.
The Israeli military held Shukr responsible for a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children at a soccer field. Hezbollah had denied carrying out that attack.
“Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan”, Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander and Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th, and he was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years. He was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs” IDF claimed on X.
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