The shadowy mastermind behind Hamas’ weekend slaughter in Israel is a one-legged armed psycho nicknamed “the cat with nine lives” because he has evaded so many Israeli assassination attempts.
“Mohammed Deif,” the pseudonym used by the head of the terror group’s feared military wing, coolly warned “the enemy” that they would soon be “held accountable” as Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, starting a war Saturday which has caused more than 1,000 Israelis and 765 Palestinians to die.
“Given the ongoing crimes against our people, given the occupation party and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and given the support of America and the West, we have decided to put an end to all this,” the wheelchair-bound terrorist leader and former bomb maker said in a release Saturday, according to the Financial Review.
“So that the enemy understands that he can no longer reveal without being held accountable,” added Deif, whose last name means “guest” in Arabic – a reference to him moving around a lot and staying with different operatives to avoid detection.
Mohammed Deif has been identified as the mastermind behind the deadly Hamas invasion of Israel. AFP/Getty Images Deif, who has one arm and one leg, is rarely photographed and uses a pseudonym. AP
As Deif’s dark message was broadcast across the airwaves, his terrorist organization launched thousands of rockets into Israel while its fighters infiltrated the border, including some on motorized paragliders — launching the biggest assault on the Jewish state in 50 years.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest news on Hamas attacks on Israel
Included in the horrific death toll were at least 11 Americans. Other US citizens are still missing, and President Biden said on Monday that at least some of them are “likely” among the 130 or so people believed to have been held hostage by terrorists.
Deif remained in the shadows for decades despite Israeli efforts to bring him out at least five times in assassination attempts. He is believed to be confined to a wheelchair after losing an arm and a leg in a failed assassination attempt several years ago.
The terrorist leader is a five-time survivor of Israeli assassination attempts.
Saturday’s attack may have made the terrorist commander a “god-like figure to the youth,” according to Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of politics at Al-Azhar University in Gaza.
“Even before this, Deif was like a holy personality and very respected in Hamas and by the Palestinian people,” Abusada told the Financial Review.
Before Deif morphed into an elusive Palestinian military figure, adopting his pseudonym and appearing in several racy photographs over the years, he was known as Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the 1960s, according to an Israeli official. familiar with its security files.
Even so, he has a reputation as someone willing to use violence as a means to end the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli and Palestinian analysts said, according to the outlet.
He also sees the Oslo Accords – which was the first time Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization recognized each other – as a deep betrayal of the resistance movement.
“Deif has tried to start a second war [against] Israel’s independence,” Eyal Rosen, a colonel in the Israeli army reserves whose previous role focused on the Gaza Strip, told the Financial Review.
“The ultimate goal is — step by step — to destroy Israel. This is one of the first steps — this is just the beginning,” Rosen said of Deif’s latest move.
At least 1,000 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched its attack on Saturday. ZUMAPRESS.com
When Hamas was founded in the late 1980s, Deif shared a prison cell with Ghazi Hamad, who now serves as a member of the Hamas political bureau.
“From the beginning of his life in Hamas, he was focused on the military track,” said Hamad.
But the terrorist leader is also said to have a soft side.
“He was very nice, 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 invasion. PA Hamas fighters entered southern Israel and fired thousands of rockets Saturday, beginning the biggest attack on the Jewish state in 50 years. AFP via Getty Images
However, Deif’s good demeanor appears short-lived, as Israel has blamed him for killing dozens of people in previous suicide bombings, including a massive 1996 surge that killed more than 50 civilians.
He warned on Saturday in his recorded broadcast announcement shared on Hamas media, “Enough is enough.
“Today the people regained their revolution,” said Deif, then added that the invasion, known as Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, was the result of the 16-year blockade of Gaza, the Israeli occupation and recent incidents that have brought tension to ” fever.”
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
