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 the latter's
assassination in an Israeli airstrike in July 2002, until
his assassination in July 2024. He was succeeded by
Mohammed Sinwar, the younger brother of
Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar (; 29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February ...
. He was a central figure in the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
and one of the masterminds of the
October 7 attacks
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...
, alongside Yahya Sinwar.
Deif was born in 1965 in the
Khan Yunis Refugee Camp in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
, to a family that had
fled or been expelled during the
1948 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
.
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.
Deif joined Hamas in 1987, weeks after it was established 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 ...
against the
Israeli occupation
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...
. 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
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...
that initiated the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
.
Deif had been on the Israeli military's
most wanted list
A most wanted list is a list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be fugitive, at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture. The list can alert the public to be watchful, and generates ...
since 1995 for killing Israeli soldiers and civilians. He was detained by the
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
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. In November 2024, the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(ICC)
issued an arrest warrant for Deif, claiming it was unable to verify his death. The warrant was cancelled in late February 2025.
Early life
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri was born on 12 August 1965 in the
Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
.
His family originates from
al-Qubeiba, a former town near
Ramleh in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine.
After ...
, but
fled or were expelled during the
1948 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...
.
According to the
Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
, either his father or his uncle had participated in sporadic raids into Israel conducted by Palestinian fedayeen in the 1950s.
Although not much is known about the details of his early life and upbringing,
he reportedly had to temporarily drop out of school to support his low-income family, working with his father in upholstery and later starting a small poultry farm.
It is understood that he studied chemistry at the
Islamic University of Gaza,
from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1988.
During his years at the university, he had a passion for theatre, establishing a theatre group called "The Returners", in reference to
Palestinian refugees
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refug ...
longing
to return to the lands they lived on before the
Nakba
The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...
.
He played a number of roles, including those of historical figures.
Early militant career
Deif 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 ...
against the
Israeli occupation
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...
.
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, the armed wing of Hamas.
Deif was close to
Emad Akel and
Yahya Ayyash, who were
assassinated by Israel in 1993 and 1996 respectively.
He trained with, and learnt bombmaking from, Ayyash.
After Ayyash's assassination, Deif reduced his profile to avoid being targeted.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, he was behind a number of suicide bombing attacks,
including the 1996
Jaffa Road bus bombings.
He also oversaw the kidnappings and later killings of Israeli soldiers Shahar Simani, Aryeh Frankenthal, and
Nachshon Wachsman in the 1990s.
In May 2000, Deif was arrested at Israel's request by the
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
,
but he escaped in December with assistance from some of his guards.
According to Israeli journalist
Ronen Bergman, Deif's campaign of massive retaliation and the failure of Israeli intelligence services to prevent it, was one of the factors that led to the defeat of Prime Minister
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
and the
Israeli Labor Party
The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...
in the
1996 Israeli general election and the victory of the right-wing
Likud
Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
party of
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
, who opposed the
Oslo peace process
The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the ...
:
At the beginning of February, Peres was up twenty points in the polls over his opposition, the conservative hawk Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. By the middle of March, Netanyahu had closed the gap significantly, and Peres led by only five percentage points. On May 29, Netanyahu won by 1 percent of the vote. This was all due to the terror attacks, which Peres simply couldn't stop. Yahya Ayyash's disciples had ensured the right wing's victory and "derailed the peace process," in the words of the deputy head of the Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
, Yisrael Hasson.
After Netanyahu got elected, attacks stopped, with some asserting that this was because
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
clamped down on Hamas members, but Bergman insisting that the halt was because the short-term goal of the attacks was to stop the Oslo peace process, and Netanyahu was now working towards the same goal.
Head of the al-Qassam Brigades
Deif became the head of the al-Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated
Salah Shehade in July 2002.
Between July 2006 and November 2012, effective command was exercised by Deif's deputy,
Ahmed Jabari, after Deif was seriously wounded in an Israeli assassination attempt.
As the overall commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, he is thought to be the main organizer of the
raid
RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...
into Israel that killed two IDF soldiers and captured
Gilad Shalit in June 2006, as well as the five-year operations to deceive
Mossad
The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
and
Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
about Shalit's location in Gaza.
He was also in charge of the al-Qassam Brigades' procurement of weapons from abroad, overseeing the transfer and manufacturing of Iranian
Fajr-5 rocket components into Gaza, and maintained correspondence with Iranian
Quds Force
The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...
commander
Esmail Qaani and his predecessor
Qasem Soleimani
Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...
. In a letter, Soleimani had called Deif a "dear brother" and a "living martyr".
In September 2015, the
US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
added Deif and three other Hamas leaders to the American list of
Specially Designated Global Terrorist
A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...
s. In December 2023, the European Union added him to their terror blacklist in 2023.
Shadow Unit
Deif also created the "Shadow Unit" within the al-Qassam Brigades. Among the unit's duties are "to guard enemy captives held by the al-Qassam Brigades, to hide them and to thwart enemy attempts to find them." An al-Qassam video said that the unit "treats enemy captives honorably, in line with the
rules of Islam, and provides for their needs, taking into account the treatment given to the prisoners of the resistance in the hands of the enemy."
Strategy
Deif has been credited with transforming the al-Qassam Brigades from a cluster of amateur
cells to organized military units, described as an 'army,' that are capable of invading Israel.
His military strategy has been dubbed the 'above and below' strategy, built on
attacking Israeli territory with rockets and
constructing underground tunnels to be used in infiltrating the
border with Israel.
Israel–Hamas war
As the highest-ranking leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, Deif was involved in orchestrating the
surprise attack on Israel that commenced the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, which, according to a source close to Hamas, he began planning in the lead up to the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, motivated by scenes of Israeli forces storming
al-Aqsa Mosque
The Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel is the main congregational mosque or Musalla, prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also n ...
during
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
.
According to
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb ...
, he was the mastermind behind the attack on 7 October.
The decision to launch the attack was taken jointly by Deif and
Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar (; 29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February ...
, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
After the attack, a
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
report stated that over the previous two years, Deif deceived Israel into believing Hamas was not interested in another round of conflict.
This deception campaign involved a decision not to participate in the clashes between Israel and the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981.
PIJ formed as an offsh ...
in
August 2022 and
May 2023, putting Israel under the impression that Hamas "was not ready for a fight" and could be contained by providing economic incentives to Gazan workers.
On the day of the attack, Deif gave an audio address, his first since 2021, justifying it as a response to the "
desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Overview
Many consider acts of desecration t ...
" of the
al-Aqsa Mosque
The Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel is the main congregational mosque or Musalla, prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also n ...
and the killing and wounding of hundreds of Palestinians in 2023.
He called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls".
Announcing the start of "
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm," Deif said that "In light of the continuing crimes against our people, in light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of
American and western support, we've decided to put an end to all this so that the enemy understands that he can no longer revel without being held to account."
On 20 May 2024, a request for an arrest warrant against Deif and four other Palestinian and Israeli leaders was filed by the
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on several counts of
war crime
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s and
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
, as part of
its investigation in Palestine.
The effort continued into September 2024, with the prosecutor saying that he was gathering information about Deif's "reported death." On 21 November, the court officially indicted Deif for war crimes, stating that he bore responsibility for mass killings, hostage taking and rape during the 7 October attacks.
The ICC argued that it was "not in a position to determine whether
eifhas been killed or remains alive" following reports that Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 13 July 2024.
On 3 September 2024, the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
announced criminal charges against Deif and other Hamas officials for their roles in the
7 October attack on Israel. The charges, which were filed under seal in February 2024, include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, and conspiracy to finance terrorism.
Unsuccessful assassination attempts
The Israeli military and security forces have killed numerous members of Deif's family in failed attempts to kill Deif, who was on top of Israel's 'most wanted list' since 1995,
and other airstrikes. Deif's survival earned him the nickname 'the
cat with nine lives' among his Israeli adversaries.
He survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts.
As of December 2023, Israeli military and security forces have killed Deif's brother, his nephew, his niece, his wife, his 3-year-old daughter, and his 7-month-old son.
Early attempts (2001 to 2006)
The first attempt on his life was by an airstrike in 2001, before he assumed the leadership of the al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel tried again to kill Deif in September 2002 by a strike on his car.
Video footage from that attempt show Deif covered in blood as a man drags him away.
In 2003 and in July 2006, Israel tried again by striking a house that hosted a meeting of the Hamas leadership.
It is also said that the July 2006 attempt was an airstrike on the house of one of Deif's lecturers in university when Deif was visiting him.
Impact on health
After the 2006 assassination attempt, Deif spent three months in Egypt for treatment of his skull after shrapnel lodged in it, and he continued to take daily tranquillizers to treat headaches.
It was believed that the seven assassination attempts had lost Deif an eye and limbs.
Hamas did not confirm or deny these claims and did not comment on his health.
Footage obtained by the Israeli military in December 2023 showed Deif using both hands and walking on his own two feet, though with a slight limp and occasionally with the aid of a wheelchair.
2014 Gaza war
In August 2014, during the
2014 Gaza War, the Israeli air force attempted to assassinate him with an airstrike on the Deif family home in
Sheikh Radwan in
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 ...
. Hamas denied that Deif was killed,
and his survival was confirmed by Israeli intelligence in 2015.
Two failed attempts in one week (2021)
In May 2021, during the
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis
The 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, sometimes called the Unity Intifada, was a major outbreak of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict that mainly commenced on 10 May 2021, and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May. I ...
, the Israel military tried to kill Deif twice in one week, but both attempts proved unsuccessful.
October 2023 attack on father's house
In October 2023, during the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, Deif's father's house was hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing Deif's brother, nephew, and niece.
It was unclear whether or not the airstrike targeted Deif.
Assassination

On 13 July 2024, he was targeted in
an Israeli strike in the al-Mawasi neighborhood of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. According to reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 90 Palestinians were killed and over 300 injured as a result of the attack. The IDF reported that one of Deif's associates and a mastermind of the 7 October attack, the Khan Yunis Brigade commander
Rafa Salama, was among the dead. In relation to Deif, the IDF stated that there were signs that he too had been killed, but they were unable to officially confirm that. Reportedly, a dead body suspected to belong to Deif was recovered from the site but was too badly disfigured to be identified.
On 1 August 2024, the IDF announced it had confirmed that Deif died in the 13 July strike.
Two weeks after the IDF announced its confirmation, Hamas denied that Deif was killed, with senior Hamas official
Osama Hamdan stating in an interview with the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
that Deif was still alive.
In October 2024, Hamas again called Deif's death a lie, while issuing a statement denying
the death of Yahya Sinwar. The next day Hamas acknowledged Sinwar's death without making any additional comments about Deif's status.
In early November, the London-based Saudi newspaper ''
Asharq Al-Awsat
''Asharq Al-Awsat'' (, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages.
Although pu ...
'' reported that Hamas has privately acknowledged Deif's death, but Hamas released a statement denying the newspaper's report.
On November 21, 2024
the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, arguing that it was unable to determine whether Deif had been killed and that the warrant would be withdrawn upon confirmation of his death.
On December 4, 2024, Israeli news channel
Kan 11
Kan 11 ( ) is an Israeli state-owned free-to-air television channel. Operated by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), it launched on 15 May 2017, replacing Channel 1 after the closure of the Israel Broadcasting Authority. It is ...
, citing Palestinian sources, reported that Hamas had located Deif's body and buried it in secret. According to the report, Hamas maintained secrecy over Deif's death due to fears that confirming it would lower the morale of its fighters, and buried him in an undisclosed location due to fears that if Israel discovered the location of his grave, the IDF would dig it up and take his body to use as a bargaining chip in a hostage deal.
On January 30, 2025, the Qassam Brigades, through their spokesperson
Abu Ubeida, confirmed that Mohammed Deif, along with six other senior Hamas commanders, died as a result of the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. Along with the confirmation, Hamas also officially released a photo of Deif for the first time, as his photo had previously been classified. About a month after Hamas confirmed Deif's death, in February 2025, the International Criminal Court cancelled the outstanding arrest warrant.
Public image
Deif, the ''
nom de guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war.
In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' that Mohammed al-Masri took, means 'guest' in Arabic. This was said to refer to Deif staying in a different house each night as a precaution against Israeli attacks. Another explanation said that the name comes from a theatre role he played in his earlier years.
He was also known by his
''kunya'' Abu Khaled.
Prior to the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, only two photos of Deif's face were known to publicly exist, with the most recent one having been taken in the year 2000. He never appeared in public,
and he rarely gave recorded audio addresses.
His whereabouts were often unknown, but it was speculated that he had stayed in the
underground tunnel networks in Gaza. In January 2024, the IDF released a photo of Deif holding a cup of juice in one hand and a stack of
U.S. dollars
The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
in the other hand. The photo was found in a computer that Israel seized from Hamas.
In spite of his elusiveness,
he was popular amongst Palestinians for his hardline stance against Israel,
to the point of being a 'folk hero' for having survived many assassination attempts; he was nicknamed 'the mastermind' by Palestinians. As a sign of his popularity, his name was featured in protest slogans such as: "Put the sword before the sword, we are the men of Mohammed Deif."
His position as a military leader rather than a political one also shielded him from criticism of the Hamas administration of the Gaza Strip.
After acknowledging his death, Hamas began using photos of Deif at ceremonies for the release of the hostages to the custody of the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
as part of the
2025 Gaza war ceasefire
A List of Arab–Israeli prisoner exchanges, hostages-and-prisoners exchange and armistice between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 19 January to 18 March 2025, during the Gaza war. It includ ...
agreement.
Personal life
Deif married Widad Asfoura in 2007. Widad, their infant son Ali, and their three-year-old daughter Sarah were
killed in the 2014 assassination attempt.
They had two other children: Omar, who was injured, and Hala, who was missing for more than two days.
Deif had two other sons, Bahaa and Khaled.
Deif's mother died in 2011,
and his father in 2022.
His family came to the Gaza Strip from further away than most members of Hamas; before
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
his family lived in
al-Qubayba in Central Palestine.
See also
*
13 July 2024 al-Mawasi attack
*
Deif family killings
*
Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Haniyeh (, ; 29 January 1962 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, his assassination in July 2024. He also served as ...
*
Marwan Issa
Notes
References
Further reading
Detailed profile in Arabicfrom ''
Al Jazeera Arabic
Al Jazeera Arabic ( , ) is a Qatari state-funded Arabic-language news television network. It is based in Doha and operated by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which also operates Al Jazeera English. It is the largest news network in the Middle ...
''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deif, Mohammed
1965 births
2024 deaths
Hamas military members
Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government
Explosion survivors
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes during the Israel–Hamas war
Assassinated Hamas members
Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war
Islamic University of Gaza alumni
People from Khan Yunis Governorate
People indicted by the International Criminal Court
People of the Second Intifada