Israel: Hamas military chief killed in earlier strike

TEL AVIV

The Israeli military yesterday announced that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif had been killed in a strike it carried out last month in Gaza's southern area of Khan Younis.

The military's confirmation it had killed Deif comes a day after the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was announced by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hamas.

"The IDF [Israeli army] announces that on July 13, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," a military statement said.

"Deif initiated, planned, and executed the Oct. 7 massacre," the military said.

Health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza said at the time of the July 13 strike that it killed more than 90 people but Hamas denied Deif was among them.

The suspected 2,000-pound bomb (900 kilograms) around the house where Deif was said to have taken refuge with one of his deputies had left a giant crater.

The head of Hamas's armed wing Deif had been among Israel's most wanted man for nearly three decades and on a U.S. list of "international terrorists" since 2015.

Deif operated along with Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, the military said.