Israeli army claimed to have killed top military commander of Hamas Mohammed Deif in an airstrike conducted on July 13 in southern Gaza.
“We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated,” the Israeli military was quoted by Al Jazeera has having said on Thursday.
However, the Palestinian resistance group is yet to confirm the development.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Deif “the Osama Bin Laden of Gaza” and termed his death as “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza”.
“Hamas terrorists may either surrender or they will be eliminated. Israel’s defense establishment will pursue Hamas terrorists – both the planners and the perpetrators of the 07.10 massacre. We will not rest until this mission is accomplished,” he posted on social media platform X.
Deif was reportedly targeted in an attack that killed at least 90 people and wounded 300 in al-Mawasi, a safe zone in the west of Khan Younis.
A day earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’ political bureau, was killed in a missile attack in Tehran on Wednesday.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards died when their residence was struck in Tehran.
