On 19 August 2014, the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

carried out an airstrike at the home of

Mohammed Deif Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (; 12 August 1965 – 13 July 2024), better known as Mohammed Deif (), was a Palestinian militant who served as the sixth commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He succeeded Salah Shehade following t ...

, leader of the

Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB; ), are the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his death on 13 July 2024, Al-Qassam Brigades are ...

. Deif was unharmed, but his wife, Widad Asfura, and two of their children were killed.

Background

Deif, born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, joined

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

in 1987, weeks after its establishment during the

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

. He was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1989 for his involvement with the organization. After 16 months of detention, he was released in a prisoner exchange. Soon after his release, he helped establish the

Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB; ), are the military wing of the Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his ...

, the armed wing of Hamas. Deif became the head of the

Qassam Brigades Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (EQB; ), are the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his death on 13 July 2024, Al-Qassam Brigades are ...

after

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

assassinated

Salah Shehade Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade (or Shehadeh, Shahadeh; ; 24 February 1953 – 22 July 2002) was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military wing of Hamas, until his assassination by Isr ...

in July 2002. Between July 2006 and November 2012, effective command was exercised by Deif's deputy,

Ahmed Jabari Ahmed al-JabariAlso spelled Jaabari, Ja'bari or Ja'abari. (; 1960), also known as Abu Mohammad, was a Palestinian militant who served as second-in-command of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He was widely credited ...

, after Deif was seriously wounded in an Israeli assassination attempt. Mohammed Deif married Widad Asfura (), Quote in sometimes referred to as Widad Deif, in 2007 or 2011. Widad was a widow (her previous husband had been a Qassami fighter who was killed). She and Deif had four children together, and Deif has two other sons, Bahaa () and Khaled (). Widad also had two sons from her late husband.

Air strike

On 19 August 2014, Israel attempted to assassinate Deif in an airstrike on his house in the

Sheikh Radwan Sheikh Radwan () is a district of Gaza City located nearly northwest of the city center. It borders al-Shati camp to the southwest, Rimal to the south, and Jabalia to the east. The Sheikh Radwan Cemetery is located in the district. It contains h ...

district of

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

. The strike on the family home killed his 27-year old wife (Widad Asfoura) "Should Deif request the hand of any of my other daughters, I will happily consent and even if she, too, is martyred I will consent to the third. It is an honor to have Deif a husband to any of my daughters and be a father to their children." - Zeian Asfura, (mother of Widad Deif) and two of their children, a 3-year-old daughter () and 7-month-old son (referred to at the funeral as "Ali Deif" ), and three other members of the household. The strike also killed a mother and her two teenage sons from the Al Dalu family. The

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR, ) is a Palestinian human rights organization based in Gaza City. It was founded in 1995 by Raji Sourani, who is its director. It was established by a group of Palestinian lawyers and human rights a ...

claimed it was the same house previously destroyed in 2012 which reportedly killed multiple members of the Al Dalu family. The strike, however, did not kill Mohammed Deif. Israeli intelligence concluded in April 2015 that Deif had survived the assassination attempt, the fifth Israeli attempt to kill him.'Hamas's chief of staff alive and active, Israel confirms'

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

, 29 April 2015. On the same day, the IDF assassinated 3 other leaders: (aged 41),

Raed al Atar Raed al-Atar (, 1974–2014) was the commander of the Rafah company of the Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and member of the Hamas high military council. According to the Congressional Research Service analyst Jim Zanotti, his command was ...

(aged 40), and Muhammad Barhoum (aged 45).

Funeral and public reaction in Gaza

Several thousand people attended the funeral of Deif's wife and son in Gaza, angrily demanding revenge against Israel and firing shots into the air. The bodies of Widad and Ali were taken from the wife’s family home to a mosque in

Jabaliya Jabalia, also spelled Jabalya (), is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, located north of Gaza City, in the North Gaza Governorate of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Jabalia had a population of 172,70 ...

refugee camp for prayers, then laid to rest in the sand of a cemetery. Deif’s daughter, , was not buried on the same day as her brother because her body was not recovered from the rubble until approximately midday on Thursday, the day after her brother's funeral, and two days after the air strike. A letter describing the personal lives of Deif and his wife was published in Palestinian media. Israeli papers reported that Widad's mother did not regret approving of the marriage and had said she would do the same again.

Israeli criticism of the attempted assassination

In addition to the rage in Gaza, some within Israel also criticised the strike.

Gideon Levy Gideon Levy (, ; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper ''Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Levy has won prizes ...

, in his opinion piece "What Would Israel Do in Hamas' Shoes?" for

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

, asked how Israel would react if Hamas killed the wife and children of one of Israel's leaders. Levy also pointed out that even if the assassination had been successful, based on past successful strikes on Ahmad Yassin and others, Deif would have been replaced, and by someone more extreme.

Notes

References

External links

76 photographs from Ali and Widad's funeral
by

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deif family killings Failed assassination attempts in Asia 2014 Gaza War Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip August 2014 in Asia Gaza City in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2014 airstrikes Airstrikes conducted by Israel 2014 building bombings Residential building bombings in the Gaza Strip Extrajudicial killings by the Israeli military