Mohammed Deif, the elusive commander of Hamas' military wing, who was widely believed to be paraplegic after surviving multiple Israeli assassination attempts, is able to walk on his own and use his hands, according to intelligence materials the IDF recently obtained in the Gaza Strip.
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Based on evidence IDF soldiers found in his home and other sites in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, Deif, despite sometimes using a wheelchair, is able to walk on his own in some instances, albeit with some difficulties brought about by attempts to assassinate him.
Journalist Ben Caspit first reported the IDF recently obtained several clips of Deif, one of them showing him walking with a limp. In another, he is seen sitting. The videos also indicate that the terrorist group's shadowy military chief can also likely use both hands.
While sightings of Deif had been frequent throughout Gaza before the war, Israel has decided not to eliminate him during times of peace between the two sides, which may have aided him in building up his near-mythical image as indestructible.
Over the years, Deif has survived seven assassination attempts and was injured in four of them, including during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.
In recent years, he has notably threatened that Israel would pay a heavy price for the recurring clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians at the Temple Mount and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
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Failed assassination attempt of Deif in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan District, during Operation Protective Edge, 2014
(Photo: AFP)
At the onset of the current war in Gaza, Hamas released a 10-minute recording of Deif in which he is heard saying, "We have warned the enemy in the past," and called on terrorists who infiltrated the Israeli border to "Carry out your attacks with all means and tools at your disposal."
On October 11, four days into the war, the Palestinians reported that the IDF bombed the house of Deif's father, killing his brother and other family members.
According to reports, Deif's brother, Abdel Fattah Diab, was killed along with his son Madhat and granddaughter Hala in an attack carried out in the village of Qizan an-Najjar in the southern Gaza Strip.