Israel erklärt den Militärchef der Hamas für tot
In der israelischen Militäraktion gegen den Gazastreifen im Mittleren Juli meldet das israelische Militär den Tod von Mohammed Deif. Neben dem von Iran getöteten Hamas-Chef Ismail Haniyeh und Yahya Sinwar ist er einer der Hauptdrahtzieher des großangelegten Hamas-Angriffs am 7. Oktober.
Israel hat den militärischen Leiter der islamistischen Terrororganisation Hamas, Mohammed Deif, für tot erklärt. Deif wurde angeblich in einem massiven Luftschlag im Gazastreifen in der Mitte des Juli getötet, wie das israelische Militär meldet. Er ist einer der zentralen Drahtzieher des Terrorangriffs auf Israel am 7. Oktober und war der Chef der Kassam-Brigaden und Stellvertreter des Hamas-Chefs in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Die Ankündigung des Militärs kommt einen Tag nach der Tötung des Hamas-Außenchefs Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran. Iran und Hamas machen Israel für die Tat verantwortlich. Israel hat die Anschuldigung nicht beantwortet und nur gesagt, dass jeder, der das Land angreift, einen schweren Preis zahlen wird.
Das Militär teilte mit, dass der Tod von Deif aufgrund von Geheimdienstinformationen bestätigt werden kann. Kampfflugzeuge führten einen "präzisen, gezielten Schlag" gegen eine Einrichtung durch, in der sich Mohammed Deif und der Kommandeur der Khan Yunis-Brigade von Hamas, Rafa Salama, etwa zwei Wochen zuvor befanden, wie die Erklärung besagt.
Jetzt ist Yahya Sinwar der letzte überlebende hohe Hamas-Führer, der die alleinige Macht im Gazastreifen im Jahr 2007 gewaltsam übernommen hat. Es wird vermutet, dass er sich seit Beginn des Krieges in dem Tunnelsystem unter der Küstenregion versteckt hält.
Israel hatte das Ziel, den Hamas-Chef Sinwar und seinen Stellvertreter Deif in seinem Krieg im Gazastreifen zu gefangen nehmen oder zu töten. Im März bestätigte das Militär den Tod des dritthöchsten Hamas-Führers im Gazastreifen, Marwan Issa, in einem Luftschlag.
"This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and ruling authority in the Gaza Strip and achieving the goals of this war," Defense Minister Joav Galant wrote on X about Deif's death. Israel will continue to pursue Hamas terrorists, he reiterated. "We will not rest until this mission is accomplished."
Deif and Sinwar were key planners of the massacre in Israel on October 7 last year, when around 1200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were kidnapped to Gaza. The terror attack triggered the war.
Many dead in attack on Deif
Last month, the Israeli military bombed a fenced-off object in the humanitarian zone between Khan Junis and Al-Mawasi, which Israel claimed served as a base for Hamas terrorists. According to reports from the Hamas-controlled health authority, 90 people were killed and around 300 injured in the attack.
According to Israeli reports, commander Salama was also among the dead. A high-ranking military representative later told journalists in an online briefing that the army had extremely reliable intelligence information that Deif and Salama were in the base at the time of the attack.
In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, requested several arrest warrants. Alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Galant, several Hamas leaders - including Sinwar and Deif - were also targeted. Khan is investigating crimes during the Gaza war.
Mohammed Deif has survived numerous assassination attempts by Israel over the years. Until about six months ago, it was believed in the country that he had lost several limbs and had a multitude of physical disabilities. However, footage eventually emerged showing Deif with both arms and both legs intact.
In the 1990s, Deif was one of the founders of the military wing of Hamas and led it for decades. Under his command, Hamas carried out dozens of suicide attacks against Israelis in buses and cafes, and built up a vast arsenal of rockets, some of which reached deep into Israeli territory.
During an airstrike on a house in the Gaza Strip towards the end of the 2014 Gaza War, his wife and young son were killed. Deif managed to escape.
The announcement of Mohammed Deif's death in the Israeli strike is significant, as he was one of the masterminds behind the large-scale Hamas attack on Israel in October 7, originating from the Palestinian territories.
Following the death of Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar remains as the last surviving senior leader of Hamas in the Palestinian territories, where Hamas violently seized power in 2007.
