2024-08-16 10:05:41
Tel Aviv: A senior Hamas official has claimed that Mohammad Deif, the commander of the extremist organization’s military wing, is still alive. In an interview with news agency Associated Press (AP), senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that Mohammad Deif, the head of Al Qassam Brigade, is fine. The statement of the Hamas official is against Israel’s claim that it had killed Deif. Israel had said that Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif was killed in an operation carried out on July 13. Israel had issued a statement on August 1 saying that Deif’s death has been confirmed on the basis of intelligence information.
Against Israel’s claim
This is the first time a senior Hamas official has commented on Israel’s claim of killing Mohammed Deif. Hamdan said that Israel had claimed to have killed Deif only to justify the massacre of that day. Hamas’s health ministry had said that 90 Palestinians were killed in a bombing in Khan Younis, Gaza on July 13. According to Hamas’s health ministry, the attack was on tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis’s al-Mawasi district. 289 people were injured in this.
Hamas had denied it earlier too
Israeli army radio reported after the attack that defense sources had identified Mohammed Deif as the target of the attacks. However, Hamas dismissed the claim at the time as nonsense. On July 13, Hamas deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to declare a fake victory. Hayya reiterated that Israel’s claim of targeting Deif was false.
Hamdan spoke on ceasefire talks
Speaking to the Associated Press on Tuesday, August 13, Hamdan also spoke about the ceasefire talks. He said Hamas would participate in this week’s talks only if it focused on implementing a detailed and internationally supported proposal presented by US President Joe Biden in May. Hamdan is a member of Hamas’s political bureau. It includes the group’s top political leaders and determines its policies.