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Elusive Hamas Leader Deif Masterminded Oct. 7 Attack on Israel 

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP)
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Elusive Hamas Leader Deif Masterminded Oct. 7 Attack on Israel 

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP)

Hamas' military leader Mohammed Deif, one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel, was an elusive figure who had a long and secretive career in the Palestinian group and had been sought by Israel for decades.

Deif, 58, was finally killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 13, a huge blow to the armed group more than nine months after the Oct. 7 attack triggered Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had confirmed his death in the airstrike in Gaza's Khan Younis area. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement.

Deif had survived seven previous Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021. In the months since Oct. 7, he was believed to have been directing military operations from the tunnels and backstreets of Gaza, alongside senior colleagues.

Rising up the Hamas ranks over 30 years, Deif developed the group's network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise. He had topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

Hamas sources said Deif lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel's past attempts to kill him. His survival over the years made him a folk hero for some Palestinians.

He and two other Hamas leaders in Gaza formed a three-man military council that planned the Oct. 7 raid, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies, in the bloodiest attack in Israel's 75-year history.

After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government vowed to kill the three - Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, Deif, head of the military wing, and Marwan Issa his deputy, who was reported killed by Israel in March.

In an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets on Oct. 7, Deif named the raid "Al-Aqsa Flood", signaling the attack was payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A source close to Hamas said Deif began planning the operation in May 2021, after a raid on Islam's third holiest site that enraged the Arab and Muslim world.

"It was triggered by scenes and footage of Israel storming Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, beating worshippers, attacking them, dragging elderly and young men out of the mosque," the source said. "All this fueled and ignited the anger."

At the time, Israel accused Palestinians of trying to incite violence in Jerusalem. Palestinians rejected the allegation.

The storming of the mosque compound, long a flashpoint for violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem, helped set off 11 days of fighting that year between Israel and Hamas.

AL-AQSA RAGE

There are only three images of Deif: one in his 20s, another of him masked, and an image of his shadow, which was used when the audio tape was broadcast on Oct. 7.

Deif, 58, rarely spoke and never appeared in public. So when Hamas' TV channel announced he was about to speak that day, Palestinians knew something significant was afoot.

"Today the rage of Al-Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended," Deif said in the recording.

For Israelis and Western states, the Iran-backed Hamas, which has directed suicide bombings in Israel and fought frequent wars against it, is a terrorist group bent on Israel's destruction.

For Palestinian supporters, Hamas leaders are fighters for liberation from Israeli occupation, keeping their cause alive when international diplomacy has failed them.

The source close to Hamas said the decision to prepare the Oct. 7 attack was taken jointly by Deif, who led Hamas's armed wing, known as al-Qassam Brigades, and Sinwar, but it was clear Deif was the architect.

"There are two brains, but there is one mastermind," the source said, adding that information about the operation was known only to a handful of Hamas leaders.

An Israeli security source said Deif was directly involved in the planning and operational aspects of the attack.

DECEPTION EFFORT

The plan as conceived by Deif involved a prolonged effort at deception. Israel was led to believe that Hamas, an ally of Israel's foe Iran, was not interested in starting a conflict and was focusing instead on economic development in Gaza, where it took power in 2007.

But while Israel began providing economic incentives to Gazan workers, the group's fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight of the Israeli military, the source close to Hamas said.

Speaking in a calm voice, Deif said in his recording that Hamas had repeatedly warned Israel to stop its crimes against Palestinians, to release prisoners and to halt its expropriation of Palestinian land. The group had now decided to "put an end to all this", he said.

More than 39,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign since Oct. 7, Gaza health officials say, and much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble. Israel says it aims to eliminate Hamas.

In May 2024, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor said he had requested arrest warrants for Deif, Sinwar and another Hamas figure over the attack, and for Netanyahu and his defense chief over Israel's response.

Both Israel and Hamas dismissed the ICC accusations and said they objected to the way the announcement of the request on the same day appeared to equate them with each other - though they faced different charges.

Born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Younis Refugee Camp set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.

He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source said.

Deif had a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology. He headed the university's entertainment committee and performed on stage in comedies.

His wife, 7-month-old son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2014.

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Lebanese Whose Homes Were Destroyed in the War Want to Rebuild. Many Face a Long Wait

FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
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Lebanese Whose Homes Were Destroyed in the War Want to Rebuild. Many Face a Long Wait

FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
FILE - A man pauses as he looks at destroyed buildings in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

Six weeks into a ceasefire that halted the war between Israel and Hezbollah, many displaced Lebanese whose homes were destroyed in the fighting want to rebuild — but reconstruction and compensation are slow in coming, The Associated Press reported.
Large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, lie in ruins, tens of thousands of houses reduced to rubble in Israeli airstrikes. The World Bank estimated in a report in November — before the ceasefire later that month — that losses to Lebanon's infrastructure amount to some $3.4 billion.
In the south, residents of dozens of villages along the Lebanon-Israel border can't go back because Israeli soldiers are still there. Under the US-negotiated ceasefire deal, Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw by Jan. 26 but there are doubts they will.
Other terms of the deal are also uncertain — after Hezbollah's withdrawal, the Lebanese army is to step in and dismantle the militants' combat positions in the south. Israeli officials have complained the Lebanese troops are not moving in fast enough — to which they say the Israeli troops need to get out first.
Reconstruction prospects — and who will foot the bill — remain unclear.
In 2006, after the monthlong Israel-Hezbollah war, Hezbollah financed much of the $2.8 billion reconstruction with ally Iran's support.
The Lebanese militant group has said it would do so again and has begun making some payments. But Hezbollah, which is also a powerful political party, has suffered significant losses in this latest war and for its part, Iran is now mired in a crippling economic crisis.
The cash-strapped and long paralyzed Lebanese government is in little position to help and international donors may be stretched by the post-war needs in the Gaza Strip and neighboring Syria.
Many Lebanese say they are waiting for Hezbollah's promised compensation. Others say they received some money from the group — much less than the cost of the damage to their homes.
Manal, a 53-year-old mother of four from the southern village of Marjayoun has been displaced with her family for over a year, since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza.
Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in southern Lebanon. In July, Manal's family heard that their home was destroyed. The family has now sought compensation from Hezbollah.
“We haven’t received any money yet,” said Manal, giving only her first name for fear of reprisals. “Maybe our turn hasn’t arrived."
On a recent day in southern Beirut, where airstrikes had hit just 100 meters (yards) away from his home, Mohammad watched as an excavator cleared debris, dust swirling in the air.
He said his father went to Hezbollah officials and got $2,500 — not enough to cover $4,000 worth of damage to their home.
“Dad took the money and left, thinking it was pointless to argue,” said Mohammad, who also gave only his first name for fear of repercussions. He said his uncle was offered only $194 for a similarly damaged home.
When the uncle complained, Mohammad said, Hezbollah asked him, “We sacrificed our blood, what did you do in the war?”
Others, however, say Hezbollah has compensated them fairly.
Abdallah Skaiki, whose home — also in southern Beirut — was completely destroyed, said he received $14,000 from Qard Al-Hasan, a Hezbollah-linked microfinance institution.
Hussein Khaireddine, director of Jihad Binaa, the construction arm of Hezbollah, said the group is doing as much as it can. Its teams have surveyed over 80% of damaged houses across Lebanon, he said.
“We have begun compensating families,” he said. “We have also started providing payments for a year’s rent and compensations for furniture.”
Khaireddin said their payments include $8,000 for furniture and $6,000 for a year’s rent for those living in Beirut. Those who are staying elsewhere get $4,000 in money for rent.
Blueprints for each house are being prepared, he said, declining to elaborate on reconstruction plans.
“We are not waiting for the government," he added. “But of course, we urge the state to act."
There is little the government can do.
The World Bank's report from mid-November said Lebanon's infrastructure and economic losses from the war amount to $8.5 billion. And that estimate doesn't take into account the last month of the war, Deputy Prime Minister Saadi Chami told The Associated Press.
“The government does not have the financial resources for reconstruction,” he said bluntly.
The World Bank said 99,209 housing units were damaged — and 18% of them were completely destroyed. In southern Beirut suburbs alone, satellite analysis by Lebanon’s National Center for Natural Hazards and Early Warning identified 353 buildings completely destroyed and over 6,000 homes damaged.
Lebanese officials have appealed to the international community for funding. The government is working with the World Bank to get an updated damage assessment and hopes to set up a multi-donor trust fund.
The World Bank is also exploring an “emergency project for Lebanon,” focused on targeted assistance for areas most in need, Chami said, though no concrete plan has yet emerged.
“If the World Bank gets involved, it will hopefully encourage the international community to donate money,” Chami said.
Ali Daamoush, a Hezbollah official, said earlier this month that the group has mobilized 145 reconstruction teams, which include 1,250 engineers, 300 data analysts and hundreds of auditors — many apparently volunteers.
The compensations paid so far have come from “the Iranian people,” Daamoush said, without specifying if the money was from Iran's government or private donors.
Jana, a 29-year-old architect, is volunteering with Hezbollah teams to survey the damage to her hometown of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon. Much of the city is destroyed, including an Ottoman-era market. Her father’s warehouse was hit by airstrikes, and all the medical supplies stored there were consumed by a fire.
Hezbollah officials "told us not to promise people or discuss reconstruction because there is no clear plan or funding for it yet,” she told the AP. She did not give her last name because she wasn't authorized to talk about Hezbollah's actions.