Who is Mohammed Deif, the shadowy Hamas military chief targeted by Israel in Gaza today?

An Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted Mohammed Deif, the shadowy military chief of Hamas who has been among the most wanted terrorists for years.

Deif is considered to be among the principal planners behind the October 7 attack on Israel along with Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza. Over the past two decades, Israel has carried out multiple assassination attempts but Deif has always managed to escape.

The Israeli military on Saturday said it struck a residential compound in the city of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Sharing the aerial photograph of the area struck, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was an intelligence-driven precise strike that targeted two top Hamas figures. It further said the terrorists were hiding amid civilians in the post in Hebrew.

In addition to Deif, the other terrorist leader targeted was Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade of Hamas.

בפעילות משותפת של צה״ל ושב״כ, תקפו חיל האוויר ופיקוד הדרום, על בסיס מידע מודיעיני מדויק של אמ״ן ושב״כ, במרחב בו הסתתרו שני היעדים הבכירים של ארגון הטרור חמאס ומחבלים נוספים בין אזרחים.
המרחב שהותקף הוא שטח פתוח ומיוער, בו מספר מבנים וסככות pic.twitter.com/sRjOxl8GPJ

The Hamas-controlled Gazan authorities have said that dozens of civilians were killed in the Israeli strike. While it has been confirmed that Deif was the target, it is not known if he was killed or whether he managed to survive — yet again.

Who is Mohammed Deif, one of Israel’s most-wanted men?

Mohammed Deif is the chief of the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of terrorist group of Hamas. But that may not be his real name.

Deif is so shadowy that no one knows his real name for sure. “Deif” in Arabic means “guest” and he is called Mohammed Deif for his yearslong practice of staying as a guest at a select group of trusted lieutenants’ homes and not at a central location to avoid detection — often in civilian neighbourhoods. Some media reports have said his real name is Mohammad Masri, but is has never been confirmed.

Deif was born in 1965 in Khan Younis in Gaza. He joined Hamas sometime in 1990.

Deif is an expert bombmaker and learnt the craft from Yshya Ayyash, the renowned bombmaker known as ‘The Engineer’. He is accused of masterminding a slew of suicide bombing from 1995 that killed dozens of Israelis, according to Sky News.

The report also said that Deif has also been central to the development of the tunnel network underneath Gaza, which has been central to the survival of Hamas over the years. Even as Israel controls large swathes of Gazan territory, Hamas is understood to have large parts of the tunnels’ network intact. Some reports have said the tunnels’ network run for 560-720 kms. For comparison, the entire length of Delhi Metro rail network is around 392 kms.

In 2002, Deif became the head of the Hamas military. In his more than three decades of career in terrorism, he has been so shadowy that there are only three known photographs of him in the public domain, according to Reuters. One of the photos is from his 20s, another has him masked, and yet another photo of him was released by IDF in January which it found on Hamas files discovered during the war in Gaza.

Deif is one of the most wanted men in Israel and the United States has declared him as a special designated global terrorist.

Old man in a world where men die young

In a profession where men die young, Deif has lived —and survived Israeli assassination attempts— for too long.

“Militancy against Israel is a field with low life expectancy. It’s quite remarkable that he has been able to survive so long. He is a long-lasting stain on Israel’s reputation of taking down designated targets,” says Jacob Eriksson, a specialist in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the University of York, to France 24.

Even though Deif has survived attempts on his life, he has not escaped unscathed. He lost an eye and suffered injuries in leg in attacks on him, according to Reuters. In 2014, an airstrike is also reported to have killed his wife and two children — even as he escaped.

A source close to Hamas told the agency that Deif does not use digital technology or smartphones.

Deif’s continued survival despite repeated attempted on his life have given him a status of a folk hero among the Palestinians, according to the agency.

Omri Brinner, an Israel and Middle East analyst at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona (ITSS), told France 24 that Deif is the “ultimate survivor of Palestinian resistance” in the eyes of Palestinians and his his ability to evade Israeli intelligence services has earned him the nickname “the man with nine lives”.

Brain behind October 7 attack

Deif is considered to be one of the two main brains behind the October 7 attack. The other one is Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza.

It has been reported that Deif planned the attack for more than two years. Within hours of the Hamas’ invasion of Israel, as terrorists massacred people across the southern Israel, Deif appeared in a recorded message to announce that Hamas was carrying out ‘Operation Al Aqsa Flood’.

“Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended,” said Deif in the recording.

For six to seven years before the October 7 attack, Deif had not made a public statement.

Brinner told France 24 that Deif’s position of never accepting a political solution with Israel makes him hugely popular among the Palestinians. The last year’s attack in which terrorists killed more than 1,400, injured more than 2,400, indulged in rampant sexual abuse, and took more than 251 hostages is further expected to have increased his appeal among the Palestinians.

Eriksson, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s expert at the University of York, said that Deif is also appealing to the people as he is the only top leader of Hamas who has educated his children in Gaza as opposed to the practice of sending children abroad. He further said that Deif is also immune to the criticism of the war leading to humanitarian crises in Gaza as his role is military and not political or governmental.

Madhur Sharma is a senior sub-editor at Firstpost. He primarily covers international affairs and India's foreign policy. He is a habitual reader, occasional book reviewer, and an aspiring tea connoisseur. You can follow him at @madhur_mrt on X (formerly Twitter) and you can reach out to him at [email protected] for tips, feedback, or Netflix recommendations see more