The mastermind of Hamas’s assault on Israel on Saturday is a shadowy determine.
Mohammed Deif, the commander of the militant group‘s army wing, is named “The Guest”, or typically “the cat with nine lives”.
The second nickname is a reference to his knack for evading Israeli assassination makes an attempt.
The first is taken from his nom de guerre – Deif means visitor in Arabic – referencing his behavior of staying with totally different sympathisers every night time to keep away from detection.
A uncommon public look
In the hours after Hamas’s shock assault on Israel, Deif appeared in a recorded video message, asserting the start of what he known as “Operation Al Aqsa Storm”.
“Enough is enough,” he stated within the message, as he known as on Palestinians to affix the battle.
He stated the incursion was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli raids inside West Bank cities over the previous 12 months, violence at Al Aqsa – the disputed Jerusalem holy web site – rising assaults by settlers on Palestinians and the expansion of settlements.
“We’ve decided to put an end to all this,” he stated.
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Hamas’s elusive army commander
Deif joined Hamas round 1990 and learnt the talent of bombmaking underneath Yehya Ayyash, a famend bombmaker often called “the engineer”.
He was accused of masterminding a slew of suicide bombings from 1995 onwards and was held personally answerable for the deaths of dozens of Israelis.
He was additionally credited with being the architect of a complicated community of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip and designing the Qassam rocket.
A Hamas supply, who has recognized Deif for the reason that Nineties, instructed Reuters Deif has been on the coronary heart of developments contained in the armed wing since 1994.
In 2002, he grew to become head of the Qassam Brigades – the army offshoot of Hamas – after Israel assassinated its former chief.
Deif’s low profile is the explanation for his success, in keeping with a former senior Hamas chief who spoke to the Washington Post in 2014.
There are hardly any photographs of Deif within the public area, testomony to his secretive nature.
“He keeps a low profile and lives hidden among the population. He moves with different passports and different identities,” Imad Falouji stated.
“He’s successful until now because the circle around him is very small. That is why he is still alive.”
Falouji instructed the newspaper Deif was perceived by Palestinians as down-to-earth and his hard-line perspective in direction of Israel was seen as an correct reflection of the pursuits of Palestinians.
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‘The cat with 9 lives’
Deif has been Israel’s most-wanted man since 1995 and has survived a number of makes an attempt on his life.
But he didn’t escape unscathed. He is partially paralysed and reportedly makes use of a wheelchair.
He additionally reportedly misplaced an eye fixed and an arm in one of many assaults.
An Israeli airstrike focused at Deif in 2014 left his spouse and two youngsters lifeless.
According to Israeli media reviews, the army continues to hunt Deif’s assassination.
Deif is listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US Department of State.
Early life
He was born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri within the Khan Younis refugee camp within the Nineteen Sixties. Little is understood about his upbringing.
He went on to review science on the Islamic University of Gaza, the place he was a part of a theatre group known as The Returnees.
Deif stored up appearing after becoming a member of Hamas, typically taking part in elements in propaganda movies, Avi Melamed, a Middle East knowledgeable on the Eisenhower Institute, instructed the Washington Post.
Breaking his silence
The final time his voice was heard was in 2021, when he warned Israel would pay a “heavy price” if it didn’t meet Hamas’s calls for over Jerusalem.
In the 11 days of battle that adopted, a minimum of 250 individuals have been killed in Gaza, and 13 in Israel.
Before that, he had not been heard from for seven years.
Source: information.sky.com”