The recent Hamas attack on Israel was orchestrated by a mysterious figure Mohammed Deif — undisputedly one of the most decorated commanders of the Palestinian resistance — who has survived seven assassination attempts and has earned comparisons to al-Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden.
Mohammed Deif has held the title of Israel’s Most Wanted Man for decades, with numerous attempts on his life, resulting in the loss of both his hands, legs, and an eye, leaving him permanently reliant on a wheelchair.
To evade capture, Deif seeks refuge in Gaza’s intricate underground tunnel network, a system he had a hand in planning, or he relocates to different safe houses every night. Remarkably, there exists only one known photograph of him.
Born in a refugee camp, he changed his name from Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri to Deif, signifying “The Guest” in Arabic, reflecting his perpetual movement from one dwelling to another. Born in Gaza in 1965, he serves as the commander of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
During the recent attack, he released a recording as his fighters infiltrated Israel, with the intent to harm or abduct men, women, and children.
Deif’s message urged Palestinians to “expel the occupiers and demolish the walls,” and he called upon sympathizers in other nations to join the struggle, raising concerns of a potential multinational insurgency.
Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of politics at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, predicts that Deif will become “like a god to the young” after this assault, drawing a chilling parallel to Osama Bin Laden as an “arch-murderer.”
