Security officials have obtained amid the war an updated photo of Mohammed Deif, 58, the elusive head of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, who has survived several Israeli assassination attempts.
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"I won't address the publication about Mohammed Deif. We need to locate him and eliminate him as soon as possible," IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said. "It's a task that must be carried out. During operational activity in Gaza, we located a lot of intelligence material, mainly in underground tunnels.
Deif has behaved as a wanted man over the years, and has rarely appeared in public. He has always been under constant changing security and monitoring procedures, even when moving between his offices above and below ground, using the elevator adapted for him with wheelchair-accessible ramps.
Reports last week claimed that Deif was in better condition than estimated in Israel, and capable of walking on both legs and to use both his hands. This information came from military intelligence sources gathered by the IDF in recent days in the Gaza Strip.
Based on evidence found in his home and other sites in the Strip in recent weeks, Deif, despite sometimes using a wheelchair, was able to walk on his own in some instances, albeit with some difficulties brought about by attempts to assassinate him. Deif appears to be active and continuing to plan out the deadly fighting in the Strip from his hidden office.
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 decided not to carry out a targeted assassination of 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 survived seven assassination attempts and was injured in four of them, including during the 2014 war that lasted over 50 days.
In recent years, he 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.