The IDF released Sunday a new picture of Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s “military wing,” found on a laptop during operations in the Gaza Strip.
Deif can be seen outdoors holding a drink and U.S. bills.
Israel’s Channel 12 News aired a photo of Deif on Dec. 27 that appears to be from the same period.
That undated picture shows Deif missing one eye, ostensibly due to Israeli attempts on his life which he narrowly escaped.
Though Israeli intelligence agencies believed for years that Deif was paraplegic, Israeli forces in Gaza uncovered recent videos of the terrorist mastermind walking, though with a slight limp, Maariv reported late last month.
Deif is said to have directed the Oct. 7 attack against Israel, making him a prime target for Israeli forces. On Oct. 11, Israel hit the home of Deif’s father, killing his brother along with his brother’s wife and children.
The day of the attack on Israel’s south, Deif called on Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East to “set the Earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers [Israel].”
He released an audio message in which he dubbed Hamas’s multi-pronged attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” and called to “expel the occupiers and demolish the walls” of the Jewish state.
Deif has commanded the Al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza since the 1990s and orchestrated a series of terrorist attacks on Israelis. He also oversaw Hamas’s armament program, its tunnel project and attempts to kidnap Israelis and use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Palestinian security prisoners.
