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Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Hamas' military wing has confirmed the assassination of Chief of Staff Mohammed Deif, months after Israel said it killed him in Gaza during a summer airstrike. Abu Obaida, spokesman for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, made the announcement on Telegram on Thursday. He also confirmed the deaths of several other military leaders, including Rafe Salama, commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade.
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Deif is said to be responsible planning Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 Israelis and ignited the 15-month war that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza enclave. The fighting stopped earlier this month after a fragile cease-fire was brokered between the Iran-proxy militia and the Middle Eastern country.
The Israeli military said Deif, Salama and other Hamas militants were killed July 13 in a joint Israel Defense Forces-Shin Bet operation. The airstrike hit al-Mawasi, an outskirt of Khan Yunis. The Palestinian ministry of health at the time said more than 70 Palestinians were killed and 300 injured in the attack.
The IDF said it had targeted a compound in al-Mawasi where, according to military intelligence, Deif and Salama were hiding.
Deif worked closely with Hamas' military leader Yahya Sinwar -- who was killed by Israel in October -- and was wanted for decades in Israel.
Hamas spokesman Obaida did not mention when, where or how Deif was killed but stated he had survived "at least seven previous attempts on his life by Israel."
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Deif, as well as for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The court accused Deif of committing war crimes in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which 251 Israelis were also kidnapped and taken back into Gaza.
The Israeli leaders were accused of directing military attacks against civilians in Gaza, using starvation as a weapon of war and committing crimes against humanity during the conflict.
According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, Deif was born in Khan Younis in 1965 and became head of Hamas' armed wing in July 2002.
He was seriously injured in two of Israel's assassination attempts. During the war of 2014, an attempt on his life killed his wife and two of his children, the Europe-based think tank said.
"In a world where you can be anything, Mohammed Deif chose to be a mastermind of terrorism," the IDF said on X after announcing confirmation that it had killed the Hamas leader in late July.
