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Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (Arabic: محمد دياب إبراهيم المصري, romanized: Muḥammad Diyāb Ibrāhīm al-Maṣrī; 12 August 1965 – 13 July 2024), better known as Mohammed Deif (Arabic: محمد الضيف), 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. He was a central figure in the Gaza war and one of the masterminds of the October 7 attacks, alongside Yahya Sinwar.
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. 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 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 October 7 attacks 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 killed 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 (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Deif, claiming it was unable to verify his death. The warrant was cancelled in late February 2025.
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri was born on 12 August 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. His family originates from al-Qubeiba, a former town near Ramleh in Mandatory Palestine, but fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war. According to the Shin Bet, 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 longing to return to the lands they lived on before the Nakba. He played a number of roles, including those of historical figures.
Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (Arabic: محمد دياب إبراهيم المصري, romanized: Muḥammad Diyāb Ibrāhīm al-Maṣrī; 12 August 1965 – 13 July 2024), better known as Mohammed Deif (Arabic: محمد الضيف), 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. He was a central figure in the Gaza war and one of the masterminds of the October 7 attacks, alongside Yahya Sinwar.
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. 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 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 October 7 attacks 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 killed 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 (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Deif, claiming it was unable to verify his death. The warrant was cancelled in late February 2025.
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri was born on 12 August 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. His family originates from al-Qubeiba, a former town near Ramleh in Mandatory Palestine, but fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war. According to the Shin Bet, 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 longing to return to the lands they lived on before the Nakba. He played a number of roles, including those of historical figures.