Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, was a Palestinian militant and the head of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas.
35 Facts About Mohammed Deif
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Mohammed Deif reportedly left school temporarily to support his low-income family, later graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1988, where he had established a theater group.
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Deif joined Hamas in 1987, weeks after it was established during the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation, and later became known as Mohammed Deif, meaning 'guest' in Arabic, possibly in reference to the nomadic lifestyle he adopted to avoid being targeted.
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Mohammed Deif became the head of the al-Qassam Brigades in 2002 and developed the group's capabilities, transforming it from a cluster of amateur cells to organized military units.
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Mohammed Deif masterminded the group's strategy of combining rocket attacks on Israel with tunnel warfare, and was central to planning the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that initiated the Gaza war.
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Mohammed Deif had been on the Israeli military's most wanted list since 1995 for killing Israeli soldiers and civilians.
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Mohammed Deif was detained by the Palestinian Authority at Israel's request in 2000 before escaping months later.
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Mohammed Deif had been targeted in multiple Israeli assassination attempts since 2001, surviving at least seven attempts on his life.
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In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, claiming that they were unable to verify his death.
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Mohammed Deif Diab Ibrahim al-Masri was born on 12 August 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
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Mohammed Deif played a number of roles, including those of historical figures.
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Mohammed Deif joined Hamas in 1987, weeks after its establishment during the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation.
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Mohammed Deif was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1989 for his involvement with the organization.
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Mohammed Deif was close to Emad Akel and Yahya Ayyash, who were assassinated by Israel in 1993 and 1996 respectively.
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Mohammed Deif oversaw the kidnappings and later killings of Israeli soldiers Shahar Simani, Aryeh Frankenthal, and Nachshon Wachsman in the 1990s.
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In May 2000, Mohammed Deif was arrested at Israel's request by the Palestinian National Authority, but he escaped in December with assistance from some of his guards.
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Mohammed Deif became the head of the al-Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated Salah Shehade in July 2002.
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Mohammed Deif was in charge of the al-Qassam Brigades' procurement of weapons from abroad, overseeing the transfer and manufacturing of Iranian Fajr-5 rocket components into Gaza, and maintained correspondence with Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani and his predecessor Qasem Soleimani.
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Mohammed Deif has been credited with transforming the al-Qassam Brigades from a cluster of amateur cells to organized military units, described as an 'army,' that are capable of invading Israel.
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Mohammed Deif called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls".
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The ICC argued that it was "not in a position to determine whether [Mohammed Deif] has been killed or remains alive" following reports that Mohammed Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 13 July 2024.
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Mohammed Deif's survival earned him the nickname 'the cat with nine lives' among his Israeli adversaries.
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Video footage from that attempt show Mohammed Deif covered in blood as a man drags him away.
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Hamas denied that Mohammed Deif was killed, and his survival was confirmed by Israeli intelligence in 2015.
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Reportedly, a dead body suspected to belong to Mohammed Deif was recovered from the site but was too badly disfigured to be identified.
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On 1 August 2024, the IDF announced it had confirmed that Mohammed Deif died in the 13 July strike.
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Two weeks after the IDF announced its confirmation, Hamas denied that Mohammed Deif was killed, with senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan stating in an interview with the Associated Press that Mohammed Deif was still alive.
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On November 21,2024 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, arguing that it was unable to determine whether Deif had been killed and that the warrant would be withdrawn upon confirmation of his death.
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Deif, the nom de guerre that Mohammed al-Masri took, means 'guest' in Arabic.
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Mohammed Deif never appears in public, and he rarely gives recorded audio addresses.
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Mohammed Deif's whereabouts are unknown, but it is likely that he has stayed in the underground tunnel networks in Gaza.
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In January 2024, the IDF released a photo of Mohammed Deif holding a cup of juice in one hand and a stack of US dollars in the other hand.
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Mohammed Deif has become a 'folk hero' for his survival of many assassination attempts and has been nicknamed 'the mastermind' by Palestinians.
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Mohammed Deif's mother died in 2011, and his father in 2022.
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Mohammed Deif's family came to the Gaza Strip from further away than most members of Hamas; before 1948 his family lived in al-Qubayba in Central Palestine.