Tom Bennett – BBC News
Israel’s military says it has confirmed that Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip last month.
Deif was targeted in the strike on a compound in the Khan Younis area on 13 July. Hamas is yet to confirm his death.
Israel says Deif was one of the figures responsible for planning the 7 October attacks in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
On Wednesday, Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh was killed during a visit to Iran. Israel has not commented on his death directly.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated” in the 13 July strike.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health authorities said at the time of the air strike that it had killed more than 90 people, but denied that Deif was among the dead.
Deif is widely seen as the second-ranking Hamas official in Gaza, behind Yahya Sinwar, the group’s leader in the territory.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said the death of Deif is “a significant milestone” in the dismantling of Hamas.
“This operation reflects the fact that Hamas is disintegrating, and that Hamas terrorists may either surrender or they will be eliminated,” he added.
