Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif killed

Israel’s army says Hamas’s top military commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli air raid in southern Gaza on July 13, Al Jazeera reported.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Palestinian group.

“We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated,” the Israeli military claimed on Thursday (August 1).

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Deif “the Osama Bin Laden of Gaza” and hailed his death as “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza”.

“Hamas terrorists may either surrender or they will be eliminated. Israel’s defense 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 posted on X.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Hamas’s collapse was “closer than ever” after Deif’s killing.

“We must not stop a moment before victory,” the far-right minister wrote on X, adding that the Israeli military would continue to target the group’s leaders until “we destroy them all.”

Israeli opposition leaders also welcomed the news. Yisrael Beytenu’s head, Avigdor Liberman, congratulated the military for the “killing of the mass-murderer Mohammed Deif” and said the strike was “evidence of our ability to face any threat”.

Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid said the operation was an “unprecedentedly important military achievement”.

Deif was targeted in an attack that killed at least 90 people and wounded 300 in al-Mawasi, an Israeli designated “safe zone” west of Khan Younis.