IDF Targeted Hamas’s Supreme Military Commander
Reports show that the IDF targeted Hamas’s years-long and mythic supreme military commander Mohammad Deif on Saturday in the al-Muwasi humanitarian zone near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
There are many signs that Deif could be dead, with additional signs coming in over the day on Saturday, but due to the long range attack, the number of structures obscuring the area, the volume of casualties, and the many times Deif has been thought to be killed only to survive in the past, the situation is far from clear.
Further, all of the above factors mean that there may be no clarity on the issue for an extended period.
Since the current war started, Deif has emerged as Hamas’s No. 2 in command and, if killed, he would be by far the most important Hamas leader to be killed since the start of the war.
Previously, the IDF killed Hamas’s Marwan Issa and Saleh al-Arouri, Deif’s deputy and the deputy of Hamas’s leader outside of Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.
Besides Deif, it is highly likely that Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade, who has also been one of the few intermediaries for Gaza Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar regarding hostages, was killed in the same strike.
Sinwar became the No. 1 target for Israel following October 7.
The location of the strike was an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings, low sheds, and with tunnels not far away, but not in the immediate vicinity.
IDF intelligence believes that Salama and Deif were not in a tunnel.
Further, the IDF believes that Salama spent more time at the location with it being one of his primary areas of operation, whereas Deif likely arrived at the location on Saturday on a more transient basis
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