Israeli television has published what is apparently a new photo of one of the leaders of Hamas, Mohammed Deif. The latter, whose last known photo dates back to 1989, is one of Israel’s main targets.
The image shows a man wearing glasses, with one eye closed, in what appears to be a forest. Nobody has the slightest idea what Mohammed Deif would be like today. Only two images of him exist and the last one dates back to 1989, taken while he was detained in Israel. According to news site Ynet Thursday, the photo was likely taken during a social event in 2018.
The man lost both legs and one eye in an Israeli attack in 2006. According to the Keshet 12 news channel, he was wearing prosthetics.
Who is Mohammed Deif?
Not much is known about Mohammed Deif’s life. According to international media, he was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, in the early 1960s.
Notably, he was part of a theater group called “The Returners” while still studying at Gaza University. According to Avi Melamed, a Middle East expert at the Eisenhower Institute, interviewed by the Washington Post, Mohammed Deif continued to be a member after joining Hamas and sometimes starred in propaganda videos.
He joined Hamas around the time of the first intifada in 1987, and was arrested by Israel in 1989, according to Reuters. He spent more than a year in an Israeli prison, but returned to Gaza in 1990.
Israel accused him of orchestrating suicide attacks against Israeli civilians in the mid-1990s and between 2000 and 2006. He became the leader of Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, in July 2002, after the assassination of its former leader, Saleh Shehada, by Israel. . Since then the man has been known as the architect of the armed group’s military strategy.
For more than 30 years it was the favorite target of the Israeli secret services and was often the target of attacks.
“The Cat with Nine Lives”
Mohammed Deif is said to have gone blind in one eye following these multiple assassination attempts and some of his limbs are said to have been amputated. His wife and one of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.
His alias “el-Deif” means “guest” in Arabic and refers to his tendency to frequently change hiding places. He is also nicknamed “the cat with nine lives”.
Mohammed Deif is believed to have played a key role in the October 7 terrorist attack. It would also be the origin of the modernization of Hamas. It was he who had the idea to create a giant network of tunnels under Gaza, and it was under his leadership that Hamas rockets became more and more professional.
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2023-12-28 12:31:19
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