GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Abu Obeida, officially announced the martyrdom of the Brigades’ Chief of Staff, Commander Mohammed Deif, and a number of members of the Military Council.
“This is befitting of our leader Mohammed Deif, who exhausted the enemy for more than 30 years,” Abu Obeida said.
“How, by God, could Mohammed Deif be mentioned in history without the title ‘martyr’ and without the medal of martyrdom?” Abu Obeida asked.
Deif was one of the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades in the 1990s and led the force for more than 20 years. He is reported to have planned attacks leading to the deaths of dozens of Israeli forces and illegal settlers. Deif was also believed to have developed the Brigades’ network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, the Brigades issued a rare voice recording of Deif announcing the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation in southern Israel was a response to Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site.
Abu Obeida said deputy military commander Marwan Issa was also killed and announced the martyrdom of a number of other commanders, including Ghazi Abu Tamaa, the commander of weapons and combat services; Raed Thabet, commander of manpower and head of the supplies unit; and Rafei Salama, the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade.
Following the announcement, the Youth Movement called for mass movilization in the West Bank in support of the Palestinian resistance and to perform the funeral prayer in absentia for Al-Qassam Brigades Muhammad al-Deif.
All of the mosques in historic Palestine will hold the funeral prayer in absentia following Friday prayers for the soul of Qassam Brigades leaders.
