JAKARTA - The militant group Hamas confirmed the death of Brigade Commander Al-Qassam Mohammad Def and a number of other high-ranking military officials.

The Israeli military claimed to have killed Def in an air strike in July. However, Hamas has not confirmed this until a spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas' armed wing, confirmed yesterday.

"This is 'appropriate' to our leader Mohammed Defif, who has exhausted the enemy for more than 30 years," Al-Qassam Brigade spokesman Abu Obeida said.

"By God, how could Mohammed Deif be mentioned in history without a 'martir' title and without a smart medal?" asked Abu Obeida.

On the same occasion, Abu Obeida also confirmed the death of Deputy Commander of Brigadier Al-Qassam Marwan Issa, as well as a number of high-ranking military officials such as Ghazi Abu Tamaa, Raed Thabet to Brigade Commander Khan Younispris Salama.

Def was co-founder of the Al-Qassam Brigade in the 1990s and led the force for more than 20 years.

Def is reported to have planned an attack that killed dozens of Israelis. He is also believed to have developed a network of tunnels and bomb-making expertise of the group.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas released a rare sound recording of Defif announcing the operation of "Al-Aqsa Flood", hinting at the Hamas-led attack that day in southern Israel was a response to an attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims.

Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to issue an arrest warrant for Def "on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes".

It coincided with a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of "crime against humanity and war crimes" over Israel's actions in the war in Gaza.


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