The sudden and devastating terror attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 gave Israel what it called its “9/11 moment”. The mastermind who planned this massive assault and gave the operation the name “Al Aqsa Flood” was Mohammed Deif, a Palestinian militant and Israel’s most wanted man.
As Hamas fired thousands of rockets from the Gaza strip on Saturday (Oct 7), an audio tape broadcast used the phrase Israel’s most wanted man which clearly hinted that the attack was a retaliation for raids carried out at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque by Israel.
Planning Operation Al Aqsa Flood
In May 2021, after an Israeli raid carried out on Al Aqsa mosque enraged the Arab and Muslim world, Deif started planning the operation this past weekend, which led to the killing of 1,200 Israelis and injured more than 2,700, as per Reuters.
“It was triggered by scenes and footage of Israel storming Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, beating worshippers, attacking them, dragging elderly and young men out of the mosque. All this fuelled and ignited the anger,” stated a source in Gaza.
Deif, who has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts – the most recent to have taken place in 2021 – speaks rarely and has never appeared in public. However, on Saturday he spoke to the Palestinians through Hamas’ TV channel, signalling something significant was to take place.
“Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended,” Deif was heard saying in the recording.
In the public domain, only three images of Deif are available – one in his 20s, another of him masked, and the third one is the image of his shadow, which the TV used when broadcasting the audio tape.
The militant’s whereabouts are unknown, although he is most likely staying inside Gaza under the enclave. An Israeli security source stated that Deif had direct involvement in the operational and planning aspects of the attack.
As per reports, one of the homes hit in the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza belonged to the father of Deif. Deif’s two other family members and brother were killed in the attack.
Two brains, but one mastermind of attack
Deif, the commander of Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades and Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, took the decision to plan and execute the attack, according to reports.
However, Deif was said to be the architect of the attack.
Addressing the people in a calm voice, Deif, in his recording, said that Israel has been repeatedly warned by Hamas to end its crimes against Palestinians and release the prisoners, who he claimed were tortured and abused, and to stop its expropriation of Palestinian land.
“Every day the occupation storm our villages, towns and cities in the West Bank and raid houses, kill, injure, destroy and detain. At the same time, it confiscates thousands of acres of our land, uproots our people from their houses to build settlements while its criminal siege continues on Gaza,” he said.
Deif stated that Hamas had appealed to the international community to stop the “crimes of the occupation”, however, Israel continued to increase its provocation. He further stated that Hamas in the past had appealed to Israel to finalise a humanitarian deal for releasing Palestinian prisoners, however, this was rejected.
“In light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and Western support and international silence, we’ve decided to put an end to all this,” he stated.
Deif was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, which was established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
He was born as Mohammad Masri and later came to be known as Mohammed Deif after he joined Hamas during the first Palestinian uprising or Intifada, which started in 1987.
Israel arrested Deif in1989 after which he spent about 16 months in detention, said a Hamas source, reported Reuters.
Deif completed a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied biology, chemistry and physics.
He was also interested in arts and headed the entertainment committee of the university and performed comedy plays on the stage.
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While rising up the ranks of Hamas, Deif developed the network of tunnels of the group and improvised its bomb-making expertise.
He has been on the top of the most wanted list in Israel for decades and has been accused of causing the deaths of dozens of Israelis through suicide bombings.
Deif has stayed in the shadows for a long time because of the risk of death he faces. Hamas sources stated that he sustained serious injuries in one leg and lost an eye in one of the assassination attempts by Israel.
In an Israeli air strike carried out in 2014, his wife, seven-month-old son, and three-year-old daughter were killed.
In the videos, he appears either masked, or just a shadow of the man can be seen.
“He is elusive. He is the man in the shadows,” the source said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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