The shadowy mastermind behind Hamas’s sneak killing weekend in Israel is a one-armed, one-legged psychopath nicknamed “the cat with nine lives” because he has dodged many Israeli assassination attempts.
“Mohammed Deif,” the pseudonym used by the fearsome head of the Palestinian terrorist group’s military wing, chillingly warned the “enemy” that he will soon “be held accountable” as Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel, starting a war on Saturday. That has already left more than 1,000 Israelis and 765 Palestinians dead.
“In light of the continued crimes against our people, in light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and Western support, we have decided to put an end to all of this,” he said. the wheelchair-bound terrorist leader and former bomb maker said in a broadcast Saturday, according to the Financial Review.
“So that the enemy understands that he can no longer reveal anything without being held accountable,” added Deif, whose last name means “guest” in Arabic, an apparent reference to the fact that he moved around a lot and stayed with different agents to escape detection. .
Mohammed Deif has been identified as the mastermind behind Hamas’ deadly incursion into Israel. AFP/Getty Images Deif, who has one arm and one leg, has rarely been photographed and uses an alias. AP
As Deif’s dark message spread over the airwaves, his terrorist organization launched thousands of rockets into Israel as its fighters infiltrated the border, including some on motorized paragliders, launching the largest attack on the Jewish state in 50 years.
Among the horrendous death toll were at least 11 Americans. Other American citizens remain missing, and President Biden said Monday that at least some of them are “probably” among the approximately 130 people believed to have been taken hostage by terrorists.
Deif has remained in the shadows for decades despite Israel’s best efforts to shoot him down at least five times in assassination attempts. He is believed to remain wheelchair-bound after losing an arm and a leg in a failed assassination attempt years ago.
The terrorist leader has survived Israeli assassination attempts five times.
Saturday’s attack may turn the terrorist commander into a “god-like figure for young people,” according to Mkhaimar Abusada, a politics professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza.
“Even before this, Deif was like a sacred personality and very respected both within Hamas and by the Palestinians,” Abusada told the Financial Review.
Before Deif transformed into an elusive Palestinian military figure, adopting his pseudonym and appearing in some grainy photographs over the years, he was known as Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri in the Khan Younis refugee camp during the 1970s. 1960, according to an Israeli official. familiar with his security file.
Even then, he had a reputation as someone willing to use violence as a means to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, Israeli and Palestinian analysts said, according to the outlet.
He also considered the Oslo Accords (which was the first time Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization recognized each other) as a profound betrayal of the resistance movement.
“Deif has tried to start the second war [against] Independence from Israel,” Eyal Rosen, a colonel in the Israeli army reserves who previously focused on the Gaza Strip, told Financial Review.
“The main objective is, step by step, to destroy Israel. This is one of the first steps, it’s just the beginning,” Rosen said of Deif’s latest maneuver.
At least 1,000 Israeli citizens have been killed since Hamas launched its attack on Saturday. ZUMAPRESS.com
When Hamas was formed in the late 1980s, Deif shared a cell with Ghazi Hamad, who is now a member of the Hamas politburo.
“From the beginning of his life in Hamas, he focused on the military path,” Hamad said.
But the terrorist boss also supposedly had a soft side.
“He was very kind, all the time a patriot who would make little cartoons to make us laugh,” Hamad said.
At least 11 Americans were among those killed in the raid. AP Hamas fighters entered southern Israel and fired thousands of rockets on Saturday, launching the biggest attack on the Jewish state in 50 years. AFP via Getty Images
Still, Deif’s gentle demeanor was apparently short-lived, as Israel has blamed him for killing dozens of people in previous suicide bombings, including a massive surge in 1996 that killed more than 50 civilians.
He warned Saturday in his announcement recorded and shared on Hamas media: “Enough is enough.
“Today the people are taking back their revolution,” Deif said, later adding that the raid, known as Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, was a result of the 16-year blockade of Gaza, the Israeli occupation and recent incidents that have sparked tensions in “a high point.”
With postal cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn