Hamas confirms death of military chief Deif

Hamas has confirmed the death of its military commander, Mohammed Deif. Previously, the Israeli military had claimed to have killed Deif in July of last year, but Hamas did not confirm this at the time. Now, Hamas's statement has verified this information.

Israel has stated that Deif was one of the main masterminds behind the October 7th attack on southern Israel last year. This attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 people as hostages. Deif was widely regarded as the number two figure in Hamas in the Gaza Strip, second only to the organization's local leader, Yahya Sinwar, who was also reportedly killed by Israeli forces last year. The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued arrest warrants for Deif, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last year.

It is understood that Deif helped construct the tunnels that allowed Hamas militants to enter Israel from Gaza. He is also considered the designer of Hamas's signature weapon, the "Qassam rocket." In its statement on Thursday, Hamas also announced the death of deputy military commander, Marwan Issa. The United States had announced Issa's death as early as March of last year. Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas's military wing, was considered one of Israel's most wanted figures. The EU has listed this Hamas leader as a terrorist and considers him directly related to the October 7th attacks.

The catalyst for this conflict was the attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023. According to data from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, Israel's 15-month military offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 47,460 Palestinians in the region. A ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect on January 19th. Since then, a total of 15 Israeli hostages have been released. At the same time, approximately 400 Palestinian prisoners have been released, including those serving long sentences for bombings and other attacks, as well as teenagers who were detained without charge. Most of those released have returned to the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, while about 70 of the most serious offenders have been deported.