Profile: Mohammed Deif, the iconic Al-Qassam Brigades commander and strategist

By Ivan Kesic

On Thursday, Abu Obeida, the spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement, announced the martyrdom of several prominent figures of the movement in the fight against Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Among them was Mohammed Deif, the chief of staff of Hamas’ military wing – an elusive commander who survived multiple assassination attempts over the years.

Deif was a celebrated Al-Qassam commander and one of the key strategists behind Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (Storm), the historic military operation that shook the Zionist occupation and its Western backers on October 7, 2023.

Other martyred Hamas military council leaders included deputy commander Marwan Issa, weapons and combat services commander Ghazi Abu Tama’a, manpower and supplies unit commander Raed Thabet, Northern Brigade commander Ahmed al-Ghandour, Central Brigade commander Ayman Nofal, and Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafeh Salama, as announced by Abu Obeida.

The well-known Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson stated that these leaders were martyred while confronting the enemy during the Al-Aqsa Flood – whether in operations rooms, direct engagements on the battlefield, or while overseeing and organizing the battle.

“These martyred commanders departed after a life of immense struggle, during which they fought heroic battles, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, and placed its downfall and defeat on an inevitable path,” Abu Obeida declared.

“This is the legacy of our leader, Mohammed Deif (Abu Khaled)—who exhausted the enemy for over 30 years. How could Mohammed Deif be remembered in history without the title of martyr and the honor of martyrdom in the path of Allah?”

In a separate, more detailed statement, Hamas hailed the “great, heroic martyr commander Deif,” describing him as “a steadfast and courageous fighter whose prowess and battles are etched into the soil of Palestine—its villages, towns, and refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.”

“He was among the first to sow the seeds of blessed military action, alongside his martyred comrades in struggle—Imad Aqel, Zakariyya al-Shurbaji, and Salah Shehadeh. He nurtured and guided this movement as it grew in strength, blossoming into unique acts of heroism and advanced military engineering powered by innovative Palestinian minds, inflicting heavy blows on the enemy’s army and imposing new equations in the struggle.”

The Gaza-based movement said Deif’s name “instilled terror and fear” among Israeli politicians and military leaders until he fell in the “greatest battle—a battle that he authored with his ideas and blood.”

“The path and story of the martyred Commander Abu Khaled will remain an inspiration for generations of our people and our [Islamic] nation. The spirit of struggle and resistance he breathed into our people will never die or be extinguished.”

Who Was Mohammed Deif?

Mohammed Deif, born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, was the commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

He earned the nickname “Deif” (Arabic: guest) due to his constant movement and relocation to evade Zionist attacks. Even his enemies admitted that he never slept in the same house more than once and never stayed in any place permanently.

Deif was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in southern Gaza, established in 1948 after the Zionist ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians—an event known as the Nakba (catastrophe).

His family originated from al-Qubeiba, a village near the city of ar-Ramleh in central occupied Palestine, which was destroyed during the early Zionist occupation.

He studied physics, chemistry, and biology at the Islamic University in Gaza, earning a degree in sciences. During his student days, he headed the university’s arts committee and even performed in theater for a while.

Deif joined the Hamas resistance movement in 1987, during the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation.

After two years of active fighting, he was captured in 1989 and spent 16 months in Israeli captivity before being released in a prisoner exchange.

He was one of the founding members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and a leading figure in its engineering units, responsible for producing rockets, explosives, and tunnels.

Deif shared a particularly close relationship with Hamas commander Yahya Ayyash and Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh. Following advice from Iran’s late top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani, he is believed to have built an extensive tunnel network in Gaza, which took nearly a decade to construct.

Over the years, this tunnel network expanded to several hundred kilometers, proving crucial for the resistance movement’s success and playing a pivotal role in the spectacular Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023.

Since the mid-1990s, Deif was one of the most-wanted figures on the Israeli regime’s hit list.

In 2000, at the request of the Tel Aviv regime, he was detained for several months by the Palestinian Authority but managed to escape with the help of associates.

The Zionist regime attempted to assassinate Deif at least seven times, four of which were in the 2000s. However, his refusal to use modern communication technology helped him evade capture.

According to some unconfirmed reports, he lost an eye and limbs in these attacks, and some even claimed he used a wheelchair. However, the first official image of Deif, released by Hamas on Thursday, showed him with both eyes intact.

In August 2014, during the Gaza War, an Israeli airstrike targeted his family home in Gaza City, killing at least six people, including his wife and two children.

Deif rarely appeared in public or gave speeches. His only notable public address was on October 7, 2023, at the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Speaking on Hamas TV, he stated that he had repeatedly warned the Israeli regime to stop its crimes against Palestinians, release detainees, and halt the expropriation of Palestinian land. He declared that the operation was a direct response to Israeli atrocities and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

With the announcement of Deif's martyrdom, Palestinian media also published an old video of him announcing the capture of an Israeli soldier in 1994 and demanding the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

During the 15-month US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, which claimed over 47,000 lives, Zionist media repeatedly claimed Deif had been assassinated, often contradicting themselves.

His abilities, decades of struggle, and successful organization of anti-Israeli operations made him one of the most renowned figures on the anti-Israel resistance front.

Like Yahya Sinwar, his commander, Mohammed Deif has immortalized himself in his death.

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