AFPThe Israeli military said it had confirmed that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an air strike in the Gaza Strip last month.
On July 13, Deif was the target of an attack on a compound in the Khan Younis area. Hamas has not confirmed his death.
Israel says Deif was one of those responsible for planning the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
On Wednesday, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed during a visit to Iran. Israel has not commented directly on his death.
After the October attacks, Israel launched a massive military intervention in Gaza, saying it was aimed at destroying Hamas.
At least 39,480 people have been killed so far, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday that “an intelligence assessment can confirm that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the July 13 attack.”
Gaza’s Hamas health department said at the time that the air strikes had killed more than 90 people, but denied that Deif was among the dead.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the death of Mohammed Deif was “an important milestone” in the process of dismantling Hamas.
He added: “This operation reflects the fact that Hamas is disintegrating and Hamas terrorists must either surrender or be eliminated.”
Who is Mohammed Deif?
Mohammed Deif is the head of the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement.
He has been one of Israel’s most wanted men for decades and has survived multiple assassination attempts, including one in 2002 in which he lost an eye.
In 1989, he was imprisoned by Israeli authorities.
Israel accuses him of planning and overseeing the 1996 bus bombings that killed dozens of Israelis and of participating in the capture and killing of three Israeli soldiers in the mid-1990s.
He is also known to have helped build the tunnels that allowed Hamas militants to cross from Gaza into Israel.
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