Israeli Security Officials Believe IDF Strike Killed October 7th Terror Planner Mohammed Deif

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli security officials believe a rare Saturday operation on the Israeli sabbath has eliminated Mohammad Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing and the planner of the October 7th atrocities in which 1,200 Israelis died and scores of others, including Americans and foreign workers, were kidnapped.

Another architect of the massacre, Rafaa Salama, commander of the Hamas Khan Younis Brigades, is also believed to be dead, along with "dozens" of; Hamas terrorist operatives. Israel's assessment is that no hostages were in the area of the strike. 

An Israel Defense Forces statement Saturday afternoon read, "In a joint IDF and ISA activity based on precise intelligence, the IDF's Southern Command and the IAF carried out a strike in an area where two senior Hamas terrorists and additional terrorists hid among civilians."

The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 90 were killed and 300 wounded in the operation.

As the military held a situational assessment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday night, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, claiming the government was "finishing" the hostages. Some accused the prime minister of timing the operation to disrupt the protests.

In a press conference Saturday night, Netanyahu assured hostage families, "We're not giving up on anyone." Concerning a deal for the Hamas-held hostages, Netanyahu said there had been recent progress toward an agreement, but that prior to that, there was little advancement "because the military pressure was insufficient."

Netanyahu reminded reporters that he sent the IDF into Rafah despite strong objections from the Biden administration. The result, he said, is the deaths of 900 terrorists in Rafah, the capturing of the Philadelphi Corridor, and dozens of Hamas fighters killed elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

The prime minister claimed, "There was a reduction in the weapons supply (from Washington), and that is an understatement."

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