Mohammed Deif

Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif
محمد الضيف
	Publicity image posthumously released by al-Qassam Brigades
Commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades
	In office; 22 July 2002 – 13 July 2024
Preceded by	Salah Shehade
Succeeded by	Mohammed Sinwar
Personal details
Born	Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri; 12 August 1965; Khan Yunis refugee camp, Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip
Died	13 July 2024 (aged 58); Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip
Manner of death	Assassination by airstrike
Spouse	Widad Asfoura (m. 2007; died 2014)
Children	6
Education	Islamic University of Gaza
Nicknames	Abu Khaled (kunya); The Mastermind; The Cat with Nine Lives;
Military service
Allegiance	Hamas
Service years‍	1987–2024
Rank	Chief of Staff (2002–2024)
Commands	Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades Chief of Staff
Conflicts	First Intifada; Second Intifada; Gaza–Israel conflict 2012 Gaza War; 2014 Gaza War; 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis; Gaza war 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel; Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip; Siege of Khan Yunis; ; ;

Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (Arabic: محمد دياب إبراهيم المصري;‎ 12 August 1965 – 13 July 2024), better known as Mohammed Deif (Arabic: محمد الضيف), was a Palestinian militant and the head of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. He succeeded Salah Shehade following the latter's assassination in an Israeli airstrike in July 2002.

Deif was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip, to a family that had fled or been expelled during the 1948 Palestine war.^[5]^[6] He reportedly left school temporarily to support his low-income family, later graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1988, where he had established a theater group.^[7]

Deif joined Hamas in 1987, weeks after it was established during the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation. He later became known as Mohammed Deif, meaning "guest" in Arabic—possibly in reference to the nomadic lifestyle he adopted to avoid being targeted. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he planned several suicide bombing attacks, including the 1996 Jaffa Road bus bombings. He became the head of the al-Qassam Brigades in 2002 and developed the group's capabilities, transforming it from a cluster of amateur cells to organized military units. He masterminded the group's strategy of combining rocket attacks on Israel with tunnel warfare, and was central to planning the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that initiated the Gaza war.

Deif had been on the Israeli military's most wanted list since 1995 for killing Israeli soldiers and civilians. He was detained by the Palestinian Authority at Israel's request in 2000 before escaping months later. He had been targeted in multiple Israeli assassination attempts since 2001, surviving at least seven attempts on his life. His wife, infant son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2014. The United States and the European Union added Deif to their terrorism lists in 2015 and 2023 respectively.

Israel assassinated Deif in an airstrike on al-Mawasi on 13 July 2024. For over five months, Hamas denied reports of his death, eventually confirming it on 30 January 2025.^[8] In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Deif, claiming it was unable to verify his death. The warrant was cancelled in late February 2025.^[9]

^ Cite error: The named reference birthday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference timesofisrael20240801 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "IDF confirms it killed Mohammed Deif in Khan Yunis attack". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 1 August 2024. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
^ "Israel Says It's Confirmed Hamas Number Two Deif Was Killed". Bloomberg. 1 August 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
^ Cite error: The named reference newsweek20231027 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference R1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference washingtonpost20140802 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Hamas confirms death of military chief Mohammed Deif". BBC News. 30 January 2025.
^ "ICC cancels warrant for Hamas military leader Deif, weeks after group confirms death". timesofisrael.com. Times of Israel. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2025.

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[3] "IDF confirms it killed Mohammed Deif in Khan Yunis attack". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 1 August 2024. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

[4] "Israel Says It's Confirmed Hamas Number Two Deif Was Killed". Bloomberg. 1 August 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

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[9] "Hamas confirms death of military chief Mohammed Deif". BBC News. 30 January 2025.

[10] "ICC cancels warrant for Hamas military leader Deif, weeks after group confirms death". timesofisrael.com. Times of Israel. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2025.

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