Israel Claims That Its Strike May Have Taken Out Hamas Leader Mohammed Deif
AInvestMonday, Jul 15, 2024 3:42 am ET
2min read
IQM --

Israeli security officials said last Sunday that, despite Hamas' denial, Israel is quite certain that the targeted strike against Hamas leader, one of the founders of the organization, and the planner of last October's attack, Mohammed Deif, has been successful.

Anonymous Israeli officials said that they had been tracking Deif's movements for the past few days, pinpointed his location, and carried out an attack on Saturday that made it almost impossible for Deif to survive.

If Deif was indeed killed, then in the Gaza Strip, only Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remains in the coastal area in charge of the organization, while other leaders are in exile.

A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not mention Deif but noted that Hamas brigade commander Rafa Salama was killed in the attack.

Hamas claimed that about 90 people were killed in the attack in the central Gaza Strip's Khan Younis area, but stated that Deif is still alive and even watched Netanyahu's press conference on Saturday evening. Salama was not mentioned in Hamas' statement.

Israeli officials said they do not know the exact number of casualties, but they believe most of the dead are Hamas officials or their associates.

As the supreme commander of Hamas' IQB, Deif has always been a mysterious figure, with the only known photo taken when he was a teenager. He has been on the run for twenty years and has never shown himself in public.

Israeli security analysts believe that if Deif's death is confirmed, it will be a significant blow to Hamas and will help force Hamas to complete the ceasefire agreement being negotiated, in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and to provide aid to the Gaza Strip.

To many external observers, such a statement seems counterintuitive: a fatal attack during negotiations is unlikely to expand the negotiation space. However, Israeli officials are convinced that the only way to get Hamas to agree to a ceasefire is to corner them and eliminate their commanders.

Netanyahu said at a press conference, In recent weeks, we have identified clear cracks in Hamas under the power of the blows we are raining on them. We see changes. We see weakness.

He said that the latest operation also contributes to this, whatever its results are. Hamas' commanders are hiding in underground tunnels and are cut off from their forces in the field. The Gazan population understands more and more the magnitude of the disaster that Hamas has inflicted on it.

Tamir Hayman, former head of Israeli military intelligence and a critic of Netanyahu, noted that the operation to assassinate Hamas officials was the right move.

He wrote: The ongoing military pressure led Hamas field commanders to demand a pause in the fighting. Add to that calls by the Palestinian public that has paid a very high price over the extended duration of the war and the mounting criticism of Hamas.

Time is not on Hamas' side, he added. Elections in Europe and the United States have shifted attention away from Gaza, reducing pressure on Israel to end the fight. If Trump is elected, his administration will not exert any pressure on Israel at all.

Like other analysts, Hayman warned Israelis not to be overly optimistic about the success of this operation. There are still many difficulties ahead: the redemption of prisoners, the return of Israelis evacuated due to the war, and the establishment of strategic plans to ensure Israel's security after the attacks in October last year.

Deif has long been one of Israel's most wanted. He has repeatedly narrowly escaped assassination, one of which may have left him with some kind of disability. In 2014, an Israeli bombing of the house where he was located killed his wife and seven-month-old son.

After his predecessor Salah Shehada was killed in a large-scale Israeli airstrike on Gaza City in 2002, Deif rose to become the highest military leader of Hamas.

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