Israel Claims Hamas Military Leader Mohammed Deif Killed In Airstrike
HuffPost
Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ shadowy longtime military leader and one of the alleged masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, is said to be dead.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ longtime shadowy military leader and one of the alleged masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, is said to be dead following an Israeli airstrike last month.
The Israeli military said it killed Deif in a massive strike in southern Gaza on July 13, citing “an intelligence assessment.” There was no immediate comment from Hamas officials on Israel’s claim.
One of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s, Deif led the unit for decades. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel and often did.
He gained mythical status among Palestinians, surviving a string of Israeli assassination attempts and not showing his face in public for decades. For years, he topped Israel’s most-wanted list.
Israel says Deif and Hamas’ political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack. Together they succeeded in foiling Israel’s vaunted border defenses, surprising the region’s most powerful military and unleashing an unprecedented attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 others hostage into Gaza. The attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the White House is legally required to keep paying its dues despite withdrawing from the 31 agencies related to the world body.
Allies including France and Germany are working closely on a plan on how to respond should the United States act on its threat to take over Greenland.
The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump’s demand that they open up to U.S. oil companies.
The upcoming meetings will be crucial to the administration's hopes to boost crude oil production and exports from Venezuela.
Deposed Venezuelan president will face the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York.
Trump's comments to reporters aboard Air Force One raised the possibility of further U.S. military interventions in Latin America.
Trump’s decision to attack Venezuela, arrest its president and temporarily run the country marks a striking departure for a politician who long criticized others for overreaching on foreign affairs and vowed to avoid foreign entanglements.
The protests, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations.
With the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump and his allies are calling the audacious U.S. military operation an unqualified success.
The Venezuelan government called it an “imperialist attack” and urged citizens to take to the streets.
The Coast Guard said it had deployed helicopters and a large vessel called a cutter to help with the search.
Forty people were killed and another 119 injured at a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations.