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Jerusalem : The Hamas military organization officially confirmed on Thursday that its top military leader Mohammed Deif perished in an Israeli attack which occurred months after Israel reported his death. Times of Israel obtained confirmation from Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida about the death of top military leader Mohammed Deif through his video statement.
In addition to Deif the Israeli strikes resulted in the demise of multiple critical military leaders of Hamas who included:
Ghazi Abu Tama'a – Deputy Commander of Hamas's military wing
Raad Thabet – Head of Combat Support
Rafa'a Salameh – Commander of the Khan Younis Brigade
Ayman Nofal – Commander of the Central Gaza Brigade
Ahmed Ghandour – Commander of the Northern Gaza Brigade
Israel’s Confirmation and Military Operation
Israel declared through official statements that they had targeted Deif during an airstrike which took place on July 13 in Khan Younis. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced through X (formerly Twitter) that Deif had been killed.
The IDF officially stated that Mohammed Deif was eliminated during their attacks on Khan Younis.
According to the Israeli military their intelligence data for Deif's death was validated before the public announcement. Israel specifically targeted Deif inside the residential compound that belonged to Hamas Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafaa Salameh.
Prisoner Release and Ceasefire Negotiations
The Israeli government previously freed 110 Palestinian prisoners following security agreements made by diplomats maintaining the active ceasefire-hostage negotiations. The exchange of hostages in Khan Younis area turned into disordered scenes following completion of the prisoner transfer.
Al Jazeera has reported that the released prisoners consisted of three Israeli detainees with one male along with two female detainees as well as five Thai nationals. Israel delayed the prisoner exchange at first because they wanted commitments from mediators regarding safe passage for hostages in future transactions.
The Prime Minister’s Office of Israel released the following declaration.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz agreed to postpone carrying out the scheduled terrorist releases until the safe extraction of future Israeli hostages has been properly achieved. Israel requires the international mediators to fulfill this condition.
Ongoing Conflict and Casualties
Israel and Hamas started their intense conflict after Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel that killed numerous civilians and abducted more than 200 people.
Israel initiated a counter-strike operation in Gaza following the hostilities that took the lives of more than 46,000 Palestinians since the attacks started.
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