The Israel Defense Force’s apparent killing of Hamas’s top military commander in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, stands to weaken Hamas even beyond the immediate loss of its top terrorist talent. 

The Israeli air force on Saturday bombed a Hamas compound in southern Gaza, killing Deif’s close associate, the Khan Yunis brigade commander, Rafa’a Salameh. The IDF is yet to confirm reports that the attack’s target, Deif, also perished. 

“There are still many questions regarding the results of the attack against Mohammed Deif,” Washington’s ambassador to Jerusalem, Jack Lew, told American Jewish leaders Monday. “I can’t confirm whether it was successful or not, but there are indications that they have achieved it.”

If so, the top Hamas official in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is widely expected to name his brother, Mohammed, to replace Deif as commander of the Hamas military, known as Izz a-Din al-Qassem. The Sinwar brothers are on top of the IDF target list following the elimination of most of the high echelon of the Hamas military command. 

Heavily armed Hamas members are reportedly surrounding and stopping anyone from entering a Khan Yunis hospital where according to Israeli news reports Deif’s body is being held pending an official announcement of his death. That confirmation might take time, though, as Hamas has little incentive to make such an announcement — and many reasons to hide his elimination. 

The real name of the arch-terrorist who meticulously planned the October 7 atrocities is Mohammed al-Masri, or “the Egyptian.” After rising in the Hamas ranks as top planner of terrorist attacks, he escaped numerous Israeli assassination attempts. To evade detection, he was forced to move between safe houses, earning him the nickname Deif, or “guest.” 

If Israel indeed managed to end Deif’s lucky death-cheating run, it has eliminated one of Hamas’s most important myth-makers. It weakens the image of invincibility that the terrorist organization relies on to instill fear among Gazans and other Paslestinians. 

An unidentified Hamas official told the French news agency AFP on Sunday that Deif has survived and is “doing well.” Even that anonymous statement, which was not confirmed anywhere, angered many Arabs, including a top Palestinian Authority official. 

“A leadership that promotes its interests instead of the people’s interests, is evil and treasonous,” a top aide to Mahmoud Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habash, said on Palestinian television Monday. “After we lost more than 100 people this weekend, how can they say that a certain commander and everyone else are doing well?”

Israel’s Channel 12 television ran clips from Gaza, where residents curse Hamas for hiding behind civilians seeking refuge at Mawasi, a designated safe zone near Khan Yunis. “There is no groundswell of resistance to Hamas in Gaza yet, but we must pay attention to this trend,” the channel’s Palestinian affairs watcher, Ohad Hemo, said.

Hamas’s “entire narrative is that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” a former IDF coordinator of humanitarian affairs in the territories, Colonel Grisha Yakubovich, told Channel 10 news. “If Deif was killed while hiding behind civilians, that would undermine the story.” Hamas, therefore, has little incentive to confirm Deif’s death, he added.   

A Gazan reportedly tipped Israel to Deif’s presence at the Hamas compound near Khan Yunis, where Salameh’s family owned a house. Deif and Salameh grew up at Khan Yunis, and grew close to each other as both rose in the Hamas ranks.

While the IDF had known for months that Salameh would occasionally emerge from tunnels to visit the family compound, it reportedly waited to see if Deif would come above ground as well. Injuries Deif had suffered in past attempts on his life made it difficult for him to move frequently in the maze of underground tunnels.

On Friday, Israel received intelligence that Deif indeed arrived at the compound. Prime Minister Netnayhu said in a press conference Saturday night that after making sure no Israeli hostages were also present there, he approved an IDF plan. A heavy bomb obliterated the compound on Saturday morning.

Hamas officials claimed that more than 90 people were killed and hundreds were injured in what they called a “massacre” at a designated tent city for refugees near Khan Yunis. News reports about a supposed new Israeli Gaza atrocity were distributed widely and reported on dutifully by many Western press outlets. 

The IDF heavy bombs, dropped in two consecutive sorties, were indeed calibrated to ensure no one would survive it at the compound. Yet, the pin-point air force operation was also designed to be accurate enough to avoid casualties beyond the compound.

According to IDF assessments, the vast majority of the casualties Saturday were Hamas operatives. The army and the prime minister are yet to say for certain that the top target, Deif, was one of them. Yet on Saturday Israel seemed to have advanced its war goals significantly.