IDF knew where Deif was for 3 days, held off due to cease fire; Hamas spox son-in-law killed by IDF
The IDF knew where Mohammed Deif was hiding for three days last week, but did not kill him because a 'cease fire' was in effect. Today, with the 'cease fire' (and maybe Deif) long gone, the IDF killed the
27-year old son-in-law of Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
The IDF continues to show that Hamas's terrorist leaders are not
immune in the war they started on Israel, as the son-in-law of Hamas
spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum was killed on Monday.
Abdullah Mortaja, the son-in-law of the Hamas leader, was killed in a strike by the IDF. Yedioth Aharonoth reported on his connection to Barhoum.
The 27-year-old was a freelance journalist, who himself previously
worked in the propaganda machine of the terrorist organization Hamas's
Al-Aqsa TV station, according to AFP.
The news source added that Hamas medical officials claimed Mortaja
was hit by tank fire in the Sheijaya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.
...
Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was targeted in a strike last
Tuesday night, in which his wife and two of his children died. There are
conflicting reports, with Hamas claiming he survived, but not saying
anything about his condition.
According to recent reports Sunday, Israel knew the location of the
arch-terrorist Deif as many as three days ahead of the strike, but chose not to act on the rare opportunity to take him out due to the ceasefire.
So when are we taking out the bunker at Shifa already?
Labels: cease fire, Fawzi Barhoum, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, Shifa Hospital
Deif's mother-in-law sorry she only has two more daughters to sacrifice for the cause
And you thought your mother-in-law was
out of her mind....
Apparently believing that Deif survived the
Israeli strike, Widad’s mother Zeian Asfura, 61, told London’s Sunday
Times in an interview published Sunday: “Should Deif request the hand of
any of my other daughters, I will happily consent and even if she, too,
is martyred I will consent to the third.
“It is an honor to have Deif a husband to any of my daughters and be a father to their children,” Asfura added.
Hamas claims that Deif survived Tuesday’s assassination attempt, but has produced no sign of life.
Asfura said that when she consented to the
marriage in 2011, she realized the possible consequence. “When I agreed
the marriage, I in effect consented to a fate of martyrdom for my
daughter,” she said.
Something tells me that she did not ask her daughters before making that statement.
I wonder if they're
at least teenagers...
Labels: Islamic child brides, Mohammed Deif
Wow! SIX MORE Hamas commanders were supposed to be in bunker busted meeting
Six more senior Hamas commanders were supposed to be at a meeting that Israel broke up with three
bunker busters on Thursday morning, killing Mohammed Abu Shamalah, Raed al-Atar and Mohammed Barhum. Hamas is so scared of what has happened that they have charged an additional 150 people as '
collaborators.'
Hamas's "military wing", the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, issued a
statement on Sunday saying that the men had been arrested over "security
leaks", a source told the Arabic-language outlet. The source claimed
Hamas was "in a state of confusion" following the elimination of three top al-Qassam Brigades commanders, Mohammed
Abu Shamalah, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhum on Thursday, as well as
an attempted assassination of the Brigades's top leader, Mohammed Deif.
Hamas claims Deif survived the attack, which killed his wife and two
of his children, but has not issued any word on his condition.
Compounding the group's fears is the fact that the Israeli Air Force
strike killed Abu Shamala, Attar and Barhum as they met in a top-secret
bunker some 30 meters underground. Six other commanders were reportedly
due to join them, but the decision appears to have been taken to
eliminate them as soon as they were together, to avoid the possibility
of any of them getting away.
And the assassinations of top Hamas leaders has continued since, with the group's top financial chief and "Justice Minister", Mohammed al-Ghoul, taken out by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday.
The bunker was located under the home of the "Kilab" family, and the
IAF targeted the house and the tunnel beneath it with bunker-buster
bombs weighing up to three tons, both ensuring the elimination of the
terrorists and avoiding unnecessary damage to surrounding homes as much
as possible.
Their liquidation essentially wiped out Hamas's entire southern military command in Gaza.
Why aren't we doing the same with Shifa Hospital, where the most senior Hamas commanders are hiding out?
Labels: bunker busters, civilian casualties, collaborators, Gaza, Hamas, human shields, Mohammed Deif, Shifa Hospital, targeted killings
Report: 3 Hamas commanders were in a tunnel 30 meters underground when they were killed
If you have any doubts that Thursday's hit of three senior Hamas commanders in Gaza indicates that Israeli intelligence has
penetrated to the highest levels of the Hamas command, read the article below in conjunction with the tweet above from Khaled Abu Toameh.
This was not just another strike, not just
another assassination. The killing of the three constituted an
indication that something in the intelligence discipline at the very top
of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades has cracked.
The Shin Bet, as the intelligence behind the
strike, and the IDF, as the operational arm, targeted the trio in a
building in a crowded Rafah neighborhood on one of the heaviest days of
fighting thus far. Thus this was a very different strike from the one at
the start of the Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012 when the
Hamas military commander, Ahmed Jabari, was assassinated in a surprise
attack that marked the beginning of that operation. Given that the
fighting had re-escalated since Tuesday, and that Israel was known to be
trying to hit the Hamas military leadership, the three had taken every
possible precaution to evade Israeli intelligence. Those precautions
simply were not good enough.
It can be assumed that whether or not Muhammad
Deif is still alive, those members of the Hamas military leadership who
have survived are now desperately trying to figure out what went wrong.
How could it be that after long weeks in which Israel was unable to get
to any of the heads of the military wing, now, within 48 hours, the
Shin Bet located one of Deif’s hideouts and killed three other members
of the Hamas general staff?
It should be stressed again: Two of the three
were not mere senior commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Muhammad Abu Shamala, the “head of the southern command” and Raed
al-Attar, the commander of the Rafah area, were part of the founding
generation of the Hamas military wing — along with Deif and several
others who are no longer with us, including Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh and Emad
Akel. They were among Deif’s closest brothers-in-arms — long-term
veterans with experience and knowledge that cannot be easily replaced.
Abu Shamala and al-Attar are tied to almost
every major attack in and from the Rafah area since 2001. These include
the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit on a tunnel raid into Israel in which two
other soldiers were killed, and even the killing of 16 Egyptian
soldiers on the Gaza-Sinai-Israel border two years ago. Thus the two had
tangled not only with Israel, but also with Egypt, which knew of their
ties to terrorist organizations in the Sinai.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, intelligence, Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Meshaal, Mohammed Deif
Meshaal exposed Deif?
A phone call from Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal to top military commander Mohammed Deif may have
exposed Deif's hideout on Tuesday night, allowing the IDF to take a shot at him.
The reports say that the phone conversation took place shortly after a
meeting in Doha, Qatar, between Mashaal and Palestinian Authority (PA)
head Mahmoud Abbas. A senior Palestinian source said that Mashaal was
under pressure to accept the Egyptian ceasefire proposal and wanted to
consult with Deif.
Possibly due to the pressure he was under, Mashaal broke the rules of
secrecy that help keep Deif's location secret and called him, thus
making it possible for Israeli intelligence to pinpoint Deif's
whereabouts and bomb the building he was in.
...
Hard hit by the IDF, Hamas's military wing in Gaza has reportedly
been pressing the political leadership to accept a ceasefire, but
Mashaal, who operates from Qatar, has been refusing to do so.
A senior member of Palestnian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's
Fatah faction said Wednesday Hamas's choice to forego the Egyptian
truce proposal and return to its rocket war on Israel was due to Qatari
pressure.
We're lucky to have such enemies. The Emir of Qatar is so self-centered that he will not agree to a deal just because Egypt negotiated it.
The Fatah source, quoted in the Arabic Al-Hayat and cited by Yedioth Aharonoth, noted that Egypt
refused to allow Qatar to play a role in the Cairo ceasefire talks,
stipulating that Qatar apologize for its policies towards the Nile State
since Muslim Brotherhood member and former Egyptian President Mohammed
Morsi was deposed last July 3. Qatar is the leading sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is the Palestinian offshoot.
Meshaal is willing to fight to the last Gazan to maintain his own standing in Qatar. And Deif cannot even take basic precautions like not answering the phone.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
P.S. It's still not 100% clear whether or not we got Deif on Tuesday night.
Labels: Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Khaled Meshaal, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, Qatar, targeted killings
Off the deep end: Gideon Levy compares Netanyahu to Deif
This tweet is disgraceful. Only Israel's Hebrew 'Palestinian' daily and/or someone who writes for them would post such a thing from Israel.
Since when is Mohammed Deif a head of state? He's a terrorist with the blood of hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians
whom he targeted on his hands. Israel, on the other hand, does not target innocent civilians.
If any of you still subscribe to the rag known as 'Haaretz,' please consider canceling you subscriptions.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, civilian casualties, human shields, Israel's Hebrew Palestinian daily, Mohammed Deif, targeted killings
Hamas: 'It's a fake'
Hamas claims that the death certificate above from the Gaza Health Ministry (run by Hamas), which was shown on Israel's Channel 2 last night, and which shows that three people died in Wednesday's IDF bombing on the home in which Deif's family was staying,
is a fake.
A "death certificate" said to be that of Hamas's military leader
Mohammed Deif and currently circulating online has been dismissed as a
forgery by the terrorist group.
At least three people were killed in an Israeli Air Force strike which targeted the
Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade chief, two of whom were identified as his
wife and son. Hamas claimed, however, that the terrorist mastermind
himself escaped with his life - but specifics about his condition
following the attack have been conspicuously absent, leading to
speculation he may in fact have been killed or severely injured.
The "death certificate" shows the names of three people supposedly
killed in the attack. The first name listed is "Mohammed Deif", whose
date of birth is given as August 1965. The date and time of his death
are given as yesterday (August 20), at 6:30 a.m.
A spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida,
countered that Deif is alive and well, saying Israel "was unable to get
to our commander, Mohammed Deif," and declaring that Deif would "lead
the army that will enter to liberate the holy al-Aqsa mosque".
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri went further in an interview with
Hamas's Al Aqsa TV, saying Deif wasn't even in the building when the IDF
bombed it.
Thousands of people attended the
funeral of Deif's wife and son in Gaza's Jabalya 'refugee camp' on Wednesday.
According to Deif wife's father Vidad Asfura, 27, knew she was living
on borrowed time ever since she married Deif seven years ago.
He said that he had the chance to see Deif only once during this whole time - on the wedding day itself.
Vidad's mother said she is proud of her daughter and willing to
sacrifice more victims for the liberation of the Palestinian people.
It would be shocking if Deif is dead and Hamas didn't give him a huge send-off. But that can wait. The rumors here are that we got him.
There was only one rocket shot into Israel overnight, but the pace has picked up today. More is coming on that.
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, IAF, Izzadin Kassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, Palestinian terrorism
'Mohammed Deif wasn't killed and we'll kill anyone who says he was'
Fox News is reporting that according to Israeli intelligence officials,
Mohammed Deif was killed in Tuesday night's airstrike on his home (or was it the rocket division commander's home?) in Sheikh Redwan.
Hamas' military chief is believed to have been killed in an airstrike
in Gaza early Wednesday, Israeli intelligence sources tell Fox News.
Israeli officials said Wednesday the country's military targeted
Mohammed Deif after militants fired rockets at Israeli cities just hours
before a temporary cease-fire was set to expire.
The Times of Israel reported that a house believed to be the home of
Deif was hit early Wednesday. Dief has escaped numerous Israeli
assassination attempts in the past. It was not immediately clear whether
he was there at the time of the attack.
In Cairo, Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas leader, said that among
those killed in the airstrike on the three-story house in Gaza City were
Deif's wife and a child. Three others in the building were also killed.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said Israel was
"unable to get to our commander Deif," saying he will "lead the army
that will enter to liberate the holy al-Aqsa mosque" in Jerusalem.
Hamas is also
warning foreign airlines not to fly into or out of Ben Gurion Airport after 6:00 am Thursday morning.
"We are warning international airlines and press them to stop flying into Ben Gurion airport from 6 am (0300 GMT) Thursday," Al Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida stated Wednesday, in a televised speech.
The move marks yet another Hamas 'scare attempt' aimed at
harming Israel's economy and security reputation, after a rocket hit
near Ben-Gurion airport last month scared international airlines into
canceling flights for several days.
The cancelations followed a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ban on American carriers flying to Israel; several
European companies followed suit, as had those from Turkey and Jordan.
Israeli national carriers maintained their usual flight schedules.
Overall, however, the move was hailed as a "great victory" for the terror group.
"The success of Hamas in closing Israeli airspace is a great victory
for the resistance, and is the crown of Israel's failure," Hamas
spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said last month.
It will be interesting to see if the FAA bans flights to Israel again. Just yesterday, the instituted a ban on flights to Syria. It only took three years. But no, it's not political, is it?
Labels: Ben Gurion Airport, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge
Who is Mohammed Deif and why does Israel want him dead?
For those who don't know yet why Israel is so
anxious to see Mohammed Deif dead.
Deif was behind the kidnappings and murders of Israeli
soldiers Shahar Simani in April 1994 and Aryeh Frankenthal in July 1994.
In October 1994 he played a major role in running the terror cell that
kidnapped and murdered Israeli soldier Nachshon Wachsman: He handed the
orders to the cell that held Wachsman in a safe house in the village of
Bir Naballah near Jerusalem.
Deif was also involved in
the bus bombings that took place during that time. The assassination of
Ayyash in December 1995 intensified his desire for revenge. Shortly
afterward, Shimon Peres, who was prime minister at the time, and Moshe
Ya’alon, the head of the army’s Intelligence Directorate, met with
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Ya’alon warned Arafat
about Deif’s plans and demanded that the PA act decisively against
Hamas. Arafat disregarded Ya’alon’s warning, asking Dahlan, “Mohammed,
who’s that?”
The Israelis were furious. Officials of the
army’s Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet security service knew
perfectly well that Dahlan had met with Deif shortly before. In the
past, Ya’alon cited that meeting as the point when he finally woke up
regarding Arafat’s intentions.
Less than two months later, in February
1996, Deif was behind a week of deadly bus bombings in Jerusalem and
Ashkelon in which about 50 Israelis were killed. (Islamic Jihad in the
Gaza Strip took responsibility for one of the bus bombings.)
That
was the sign for a last-ditch Palestinian attempt to suppress Hamas and
Islamic Jihad. The PA arrested hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad
operatives, including Deif, who spent the following years in and out of
prison. Some of the prisoners had half of their beards shaved off to
humiliate them. But Deif continued his work from prison in Gaza, and was
even released at times by the PA.
Israeli officials
accused him of involvement in various attempted terror attacks,
including sending five suicide terrorists into Israel in March 2000.
Police officers of Yamam, the civilian counter-terrorism unit, killed
the five would-be attackers in Taibeh in the Triangle, an area of
Israeli Arab towns and villages located between the center of the
country and the Haifa region.
The PA released Deif from
prison, this time for good, in April 2001, together with dozens of Hamas
and Islamic Jihad operatives. These were the “engineers” who were
behind the wave of bombing attacks that took place over the next several
months. Most of them, mainly those who lived in the West Bank, were
eliminated by Israel.
Deif resumed his natural place in
Hamas, subordinate to Shehadeh (who had been released from an Israeli
prison in 2000). He established a relatively secret, independent group
of his own within Hamas’s military wing to carry out terror attacks.
This group’s members, who were under his direct command, specialized in
missions that it defined as “high-quality attacks,” such as the series
of attacks on Elei Sinai and Dugit in the northern Gaza Strip, in which
three Israelis were killed.
An indictment submitted to
the military court at the Erez border crossing in 2000 charged Deif with
direct involvement in planning severe terror attacks in the Gaza Strip.
According to the indictment, Deif was behind the terror attack on the
pre-army academy in Atzmona in Gush Katif in March 2000, killing five of
the students there. He also issued orders, directed the operations
personally and was involved to the last detail in “routine” terror
attacks, even preparing the explosive device himself in one case. In
other cases, he taught operatives how to prepare explosive devices.
Read the whole thing. We have too many reasons to want Deif dead. Hopefully, if it did not happen last night, it will happen soon.
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Mohammed Deif, Palestinian suicide bombers, Palestinian terrorism
Hamas: Deif is still alive
A Hamas spokesman says that Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades commander
Mohammed Deif is still alive.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has said that the elusive head of the
terror group's "military wing", Mohammed Deif, is still "alive and well"
despite an IDF assassination attempt which killed his wife and son.
"The occupation will pay for its crimes against the Palestinian
people," declared Abu-Zuhri, who added a chilling warning to the people
of southern Israel.
"The residents of the Gaza periphery will return to their homes only
by the decision of the commander Mohammed Deif and one Israeli
commitment to stop the aggression and lift the siege," he threatened.
Adding to the threats, Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said
Wednesday that "difficult days" are coming for both Israel and Gaza, as
an escalation in the violence is expected.
"(Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu and (Foreign Minister Avigdor)
Liberman must prepare themselves for difficult days. They have never
seen such (difficult days) in this war or its predecessors," said
Barhoum.
We don't have any exploding
cell phones or
head rests available, do we?
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Hezbullah, IDF, Imad Mughniyah, Lebanon, Mohammed Deif, Palestinian terrorists, Yihye Ayyash
Yes, Israel targeted Mohammed Deif
The JPost is reporting that the 'Palestinians' are accusing Israel of attempting to assassinate Ezzadein al-Qassam brigades commander
Mohammed Deif (center) on Tuesday night.
Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk charged on Wednesday after Gaza truce talks collapsed in a spasm of violence that Israel had targeted the group's armed wing leader Muhammad Deif in one of its air strikes on Tuesday in the coastal territory.
The Israeli military would not specify any of the targets of some 30 attacks across Gaza in response to rocket fire aimed at Israel. Marzouk said Israel had ruptured the truce alleging it was in order "to assassinate Muhammad Deif," but that civilians were killed at the site of the attack.
Palestinian health officials said three people were killed in a strike on a house in Gaza City, including a child and a woman. The third victim was not identified.
Israeli media said Israel had been targeting another leading Hamas militant in charge of rocket fire, but did not know whether or not he had survived the attack.
Deif is certainly a legitimate military target, and if he uses his home as a command post (which is likely), his home is also a legitimate military target.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that two civilians were killed in the strike -
Deif's wife and daughter.
"The wife of the great leader was martyred with his daughter," in a strike on Tuesday night, Hamas' exiled deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
He said nothing about the fate of Mr Deif himself. He said Israel had been looking for "an excuse to target a big Hamas leader".
Palestinian emergency services revised an earlier report of three killed in the strike on a large house in the city's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and said the victims were a woman and a two-year-old girl.
...
Mr Deif was appointed head of Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in 2002 after the death of his predecessor Salah Shehade in a raid.
Mr Deif had survived at least five previous Israeli attempts to kill him.
Shehadeh managed to
take 14 civilians with him when he was killed.
The IDF is now confirming that
it did target Deif.
An Israeli diplomatic source confirmed Wednesday morning to Walla! that Israel tried overnight to eliminate Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's "military wing," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas has claimed that five bunker-buster bombs were fired by Israel targeting the elusive mastermind behind Hamas's terror war.
...
While Deif's condition is currently unknown, local health officials quoted by Reuters said
three people were killed in a strike on a house in Gaza City, including
a child and a woman, possibly Deif's wife and daughter. The third death
was not identified, leaving speculation open that the IAF may in fact
have hit its mark.
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) commented on the latest
attempt to end Deif's life; the terrorist leader has until now evaded
five IDF assassination attempts, losing both of his legs in one airstrike.
Deif "is exactly like (former Al Qaeda leader Osama) Bin Laden," appraised Sa'ar, speaking to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio). "This is an arch-murderer. Where there is an operational opportunity to eliminate him - it must be taken."
Note that the Arutz Sheva report - published an hour ago - is four hours later than the Sydney Morning Herald report.
Hmmm.
P.S. Why can't we use bunker busters to target the bunker under Shifa Hospital the same way?
Labels: bunker busters, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, targeted killings
Israel assassinates Hamas rocket division head? Or was it Mohammed Deif?
Translation: Before the firing: An assassination attempt on a senior Hamas member in Sheikh Radwan. In Israel they will not confirm whether it's talking about Mohammed Deif and whether he was hit.
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Hamas rockets, IAF, Mohammed Deif, Palestinian terrorists, targeted killings
Mohammed Deif: 'Our soldiers run toward martyrdom like yours flee from death'
Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif broadcast a message to Israel on Tuesday night on Hamas' al-Aqsa television network. In addition to the message in the title, he said that there would be no cease fire until the 'siege' of Gaza is lifted, and there would be 'no compromise.'
Let's go to the videotape.
Apparently, those 'brave warriors' who are 'running toward martyrdom' do not include the Hamas leadership, which continues to hide in the basement of Gaza City's Shifa Hospital.
Labels: Gaza blockade, Hamas, Izzadin Kassam Brigades, martyrs, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, Shifa Hospital
Phase 3: The end of Hamas
The IDF may soon move into Phase 3 of Operation Protective Edge, which would mean
the systematic destruction of all of Hamas' military assets.
But Hamas’s leadership structure – Khaled Mashaal in Qatar
and Ismail Haniyeh (head of the political wing) and Muhammad Deif
(commander of the military wing) in Gaza have taken the decision to
continue to confront Israel.
By doing so, the leaders are
inviting Israel to launch the third phase of the offensive, and to lose
any control of when Israel ceases its large-scale military offensive
against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas has lost more than half of its
rocket arsenal through Israeli air strikes and depletion from its own
use. Should Israel launch its third phase, deterrence will become a
secondary goal, and the IDF will be instructed to attack and destroy
Hamas’s military assets all over Gaza.
Although the targets of
such a phase are unknown, it would not be unreasonable to assume they
would include Hamas’s senior military leadership structure, the
remainder of its weapons factories and rocket stockpiles, regime
buildings, Hamas posts, and large swaths of its territorial divisions
and battalions.
That would necessitate a deeper presence of ground forces inside Gaza, and a further, controlled escalation of the conflict.
Hamas
could hope to stay on its feet and be able to fire rockets until the
last day of the war, thereby claiming a hollow “victory.” But that
assumption ignores the very real possibility that Hamas’s military wing
may be dismembered by the end of the conflict.
Faster, faster....
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Meshaal, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge
IDF targets Mohammed Deif
Foreign reports indicate that the IDF took a shot at Hamas' Izz-a-Din-al-Qassam commander
Mohammed Deif on Tuesday night. It was not the first time. Deif is apparently in hiding with the Hamas leadership, but two people in his house were killed and the house was likely destroyed.
This is from the first link.
Deif is considered the official who determines the agenda of the Izz
ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and is regarded as the “brain” behind Hamas.
He is likely hiding underground somewhere inside Gaza, fearing the IDF will try to eliminate him.
Deif started out as a student of Yahya Ayyash, who was nicknamed “the
Engineer” and who was the chief bombmaker of Hamas in the late 1990s,
when the organization started carrying out suicide bombing attacks
within Israel. Ayyash was eliminated by Israel in 1996.
Following Ayyash’s elimination, Deif carried out numerous murderous
terror attacks in Israel, including two suicide bombing attacks on buses
in Jerusalem and kidnapping attempts within Israel.
Israel tried to kill Mohammed Deif several times, without success.
One time, he lost an eye and likely his hand as well. In another attempt
he was seriously wounded, his hands and legs were amputated and he has
been confined to a wheelchair ever since.
Ayyash is the guy who answered his cell phone and had it blow his head off :-)
You can bet that when we get Deif, we will get the same reactions we got when the IDF eliminated Sheikh Ahmad Yassin: That we're going after poor old men in wheelchairs. Right....
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Izzadin Kassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, Operation Protective Edge, Yihye Ayyash
