Who is Mohammed Deif?
It is believed that Mohammed Deif is the person who planned the recent Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Who is he, and what is his background?
Mohammed Deif is a prominent figure in the Palestinian resistance movement, particularly associated with the military wing of Hamas, known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He is considered one of the most wanted men by Israeli authorities and has been a key leader within the Hamas organization.
Deif is known for his involvement in militant activities and has been a central figure in planning and carrying out attacks against Israeli targets. He has been linked to several high-profile terrorist operations and has a long history of involvement in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Deif has been targeted by Israeli forces multiple times, and there have been several assassination attempts on his life. Despite these efforts, he has managed to survive and continues to be a key player within the Hamas leadership. His ability to evade capture and maintain his position has made him a symbol of resistance for many Palestinians.
Deif is a highly secretive figure, and there is limited publicly available information about his personal life. He is known for his strong commitment to the Palestinian cause and is often seen as a symbol of resistance by Hamas supporters. His continued influence within the organization highlights the complex and ongoing nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mohammad Masri was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip which was set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After joining Hamas in 1990, he became known as Mohammed Deif (Deif meaning guest in Arabic), owing to his nomadic lifestyle.
Deif joined Hamas in 1990 with the help of Yahya Ayyash and Adnan al-Ghoul, his long-time associates. In 1994, Deif was involved in the kidnappings and killing of IDF soldiers Shahar Simani, Aryeh Frankenthal and Nachshon Wachsman. He was personally responsible, along with Yahya Ayyash, for the bus bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon, attacks that killed about 50 Israelis. Five suicide bombers he sent into Israel in March 2000 were killed by Yamam. After his release from PA prison in April 2001, he was involved in a 'wave of bombing attacks' that lasted several months during the second intifada.[5]
Deif became the supreme military commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated Salah Shehade in July 2002. Israel holds him directly responsible for the murder of dozens of civilians in numerous suicide bombings since 1995, among them the Jaffa Road bus bombings in Jerusalem. He along with Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat and Adnan al-Ghoul played a key role in the attacks perpetrated in Israel. Deif has been at the top of Israel's most-wanted list for over two decades.
In February 2006, some Israeli media argued that Deif would build an Al Qaeda network in the Gaza Strip since he did not support the approach of Hamas. This claim, however, was denied by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Despite being the Israeli military's 'most wanted' man since 1995 for orchestrating the killings of Israeli soldiers and civilians, he has survived seven assassination attempts in the past two decades. In the first assassination attempt on his life, he is thought to have lost an eye, and in the second, to have lost a part of his arm; he is thought to be handicapped. Deif's wife, 7-month infant son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2014. The most recent Israeli attempt to kill Deif was during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
The United States Department of State added Deif to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on September 8, 2015.
2023 Israel–Hamas war
Deif said in a recorded message on the first day of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, that it was in response to what he called the "desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israel killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians in 2023. He called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls". He continued: "In light of the continuing crimes against our people, in light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and Western support, we've decided to put an end to all this so that the enemy understands that he can no longer revel without being held to account."
