Who Is the Hamas Military Leader, Muhammad Deif?

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Who Is the ****** Military Leader, Muhammad Deif?

Muhammad Deif, the shadowy leader of ******’s military wing, is believed to be an architect of the Oct. 7 ******** on southern ******* that ******* about 1,200 people and ignited the nine-month-old war in Gaza. A mysterious figure who has repeatedly escaped ******** ************** attempts, Mr. Deif has been one of *******’s most wanted men for decades.

An undated handout photo said to be Muhammad Deif, the ****** military leader.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

He is revered within some ************ circles for overseeing the development of ******’s military capabilities and has been a symbol of the group’s resilience, finding ways to survive despite being a top target of one of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East.

On Oct. 7, as ****** launched its ******* on ******** towns and military installations, Mr. Deif released a recorded speech declaring that the group had launched its operation so “the ****** will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”

“Righteous fighters, this is your day to bury this ********* ******,” he said in the speech, which was broadcast on ******’s Al-Aqsa TV. “Its time has finished. ***** them wherever you find them,” he added. “Remove this filth from your land and your sacred places. ****** and the angels ****** with you.”

****** is backed by Iran and Mr. Deif supports the relationship.

He has not been seen publicly in years, and few photos of him are in the public domain. In January, the ******** army published an image of a man it said was Mr. Deif; the picture showed him resting under a tree with a wad of cash in hand.

He is believed to be disabled, possibly missing an eye and limbs. ******* bombed his home in 2014, ******** his wife and infant son.

In May, Karim Khan, the International ********* Court’s chief prosecutor, requested an arrest warrant for Mr. Deif, accusing him and two other ****** leaders of war ******* and ******* against humanity.

Mr. Deif was born in 1965 to a poor ************ family and grew up in the Khan Younis ******** camp near Yahya Sinwar, the leader of ****** in Gaza, and Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled leader of ******, another ************ faction that rivals ******.

“He’s a legendary figure in ******,” Ibrahim Madhoun, an analyst close to ******, said in an interview, comparing him to Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader and founder of ******. “His fingerprints are on the transformation of the Qassam Brigades from a limited number of armed cells to a formal army that has tens of thousands of fighters.”

Mr. Deif has commanded the so-called Shadow Brigade, which guards ******** captives held by ******, and invested significantly in manufacturing weapons and bringing new technologies to the Qassam Brigades such as reconnaissance drones, according to Mr. Madhoun.

******** analysts also recognize that Mr. Deif has changed ******’s military arm into a more powerful and organized fighting force.

Michael Milshtein, a former ******** intelligence officer specializing in ************ affairs, described Mr. Deif as one of ******’s most important military strategists.

“He’s the beating heart of ******’s military wing,” he said, noting that Mr. Deif was at the helm of a force that has elite fighters, naval commandoes and air capabilities. “He has developed a force that almost has statehood capacities.”

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#****** #Military #Leader #Muhammad #Deif

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