Deif family killings explained

Deif family killings
Partof:2014 Gaza War
Location:, Palestine (the apartment where Mohammed Deif's wife and children lived)
Target:Mohammed Deif (leader of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades)
Fatalities:6+
Victims:The wife, daughter, and son of Mohammed Deif, and other members of the household.
Accused:Accused of being informants:
  • Mahmoud Ishtiwi

On 19 August 2014, the Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike at the home of Mohammed Deif, leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades. Deif was unharmed, but his wife Widad Asfura and his two children were killed.

Background

Deif joined Hamas in 1987, weeks after its establishment during the First Intifada.[1] He was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1989 for his involvement with the organization.[2] After 16 months of detention, he was released in a prisoner exchange. Soon after his release, he helped establish the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.[3] [4] Deif became the head of the Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated Salah Shehade in July 2002.[5] Between July 2006 and November 2012, effective command was exercised by Deif's deputy, Ahmed Jabari, after Deif was seriously wounded in an Israeli assassination attempt.[6] [7]

Mohammed Deif married Widad Asfura (Arabic: وداد عصفورة|Widad Asfoura),[8] [9] sometimes referred to as Widad Deif,[10] in 2007[11] or 2011. Widad was already a widow, her previous husband was a martyred Qassami fighter. They had four children together,[12] and Deif has two other sons, Bahaa (Arabic: بهاء) and Khaled (Arabic: خالد).[13]

Air strike

On Tuesday 19 August 2014, Israel attempted to assassinate Deif in an airstrike on his house in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City.[14] [15] The strike on the family home killed his 27-year old wife (Widad Asfoura)[16] and two of their children, a 3-year-old daughter (Arabic: سارة محمد الضيف|Sarah Mohammed Al-Deif) and 7-month-old son (referred to at the funeral as "Ali Deif", Arabic: علي الضيف),[17] and three other members of the household.[18] The strike also killed a mother and her two teenage sons from the Al Dalu family.[19] The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights claimed it was the same house previously destroyed in 2012, also killing multiple members of the Al Dalu family.

The strike, however, did not kill Mohammed Deif. Israeli intelligence concluded in April 2015 that Deif had survived the assassination attempt, the fifth Israeli attempt to kill him.[20]

On the same day, the IDF successfully assassinated 3 other leaders: (41 years old), Raed al Atar (40 years old), and Muhammad Barhoum (45 years old).[21]

Funeral and public reaction in Gaza

Several thousand people attended the funeral of Deif's wife and son in Gaza, angrily demanding revenge against Israel and firing shots into the air. The bodies of Widad and Ali were taken from the wife’s family home to a mosque in Jabaliya refugee camp for prayers, then laid to rest in the sand of a cemetery.[22]

Deif’s daughter, Arabic: سارة محمد الضيف|Sarah Mohammed Deif,[23] was not buried on the same day as her brother because her body was not recovered from the rubble until approximately midday on Thursday, the day after her brother's funeral, and two days after the air strike.[24] [25] [26]

A strangely flattering letter claiming to be from (Mohammed Deif’s in laws) was published in Palestinian media.[27] Israeli papers reported that Widad's mother did not regret approving of the marriage, and said she would do the same again.

Israeli criticism of the attempted assassination

In addition to the rage in Gaza, some within Israel also criticised the strike. Gideon Levy, in his opinion piece "What Would Israel Do in Hamas' Shoes?" for Haaretz, asked how Israel would react if Hamas killed the wife and children of one of Israel's leaders. Levy also pointed out that even if the assassination had been successful, based on past successful strikes on Ahmad Yassin and others, Deif would have been replaced, and by someone more extreme.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Who Is Mohammed Deif? Hamas' Elusive Commander Remains A Mystery Figure . 2023-11-19 . Free Press Journal . en . 19 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231119162854/https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/who-is-mohammed-deif-hamas-elusive-commander-remains-a-mystery-figure . live .
  2. News: 2014-08-20 . Has Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif, escaped death again? . en . Reuters . 2023-03-04 . 4 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230304150014/https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-gaza-deif-idINKBN0GK1PM20140820 . live . Nidal . Al-Mughrabi . Maayan . Lubell.
  3. Web site: 2023-10-26 . Hamas' deadly 'phantom': the man behind the attacks . 2023-11-07 . Australian Financial Review . en . 7 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231107203914/https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/hamas-deadly-phantom-the-man-behind-the-attacks-20231025-p5eevg . live . Nicolas . Pelham.
  4. Web site: Ziboun . Kifah . 2014-08-28 . From the Spotlight to the Shadows . 2023-03-04 . Asharq Al-Awsat . 4 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230304150016/https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/kifah-ziboun/features/from-the-spotlight-to-the-shadows . live .
  5. News: Asser . Martin . 26 September 2002 . Profile: Hamas commander Mohammed Deif . BBC News . 15 November 2012 . 30 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090830165314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2284055.stm . live .
  6. Web site: 2023-10-11 . Who is Mohammed Deif, the elusive Hamas commander behind the attack on Israel? . 2023-11-17 . cnbctv18.com . en . 17 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231117222144/https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/mohammed-deif-the-elusive-hamas-commander-behind-attack-on-israel-18014481.htm . live .
  7. News: Hamas's deadly "phantom": the man behind the attacks . Nicolas . Pelham . 20 October 2023 . The Economist . 2023-11-07 . 0013-0613 . 7 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231107203907/https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/10/20/hamass-deadly-phantom-the-man-behind-the-attacks . live .
  8. News: Funeral of Al-Daif's wife and child... and Hamas threatens the occupation to pay the price . 3 July 2024 . . 20 August 2014 . ar .
  9. News: אלפים בהלווית אשתו ובנו של דף: "לנקום בישראל" . 3 July 2024 . Mako . 20 August 2014 . he . Quote in Hebrew: וידאד עספורה דף, אשתו בת ה-27 של מפקד חמאס, ועלי מוחמד דף, בנו בן ה-7, נהרגו בהפצצת צה"ל יחד עם עוד ארבעה בני אדם ובהם אשתו ובנו של אחמד דאלו - בעל הבית שהותקף ובכיר בזרוע הצבאית של חמאס. | | Widad Asfora Daf, the 27-year-old wife of a Hamas commander, and Ali Muhammad Daf, his 7-year-old son (sic.)<!-- not sure if that transaction is right -->, were killed in an IDF bombing along with four other people, including the wife and son of Ahmed Dalou - the owner of the house that was attacked and a senior in the arm the military of Hamas.
  10. News: Widad Al-Deif... the wife of the commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades . 29 June 2024 . Arab 21 . 21 August 2014 . ar.
  11. News: Sakher . Abu El Oun . Agence France-Presse . 2014-08-20 . Thousands mourn slain wife, baby of Hamas commander . 2023-11-04 . GMA News Online . en . 4 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104210413/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/375670/thousands-mourn-slain-wife-baby-of-hamas-commander/story/ . live .
  12. News: Kershner . Isabel . Akram . Fares . After Strike on Family, Fate of Hamas Commander Is Unknown . 4 July 2024 . The New York Times . 20 August 2014.
  13. News: Gaza: a rare appearance of the children of the leader of the "Qassam", Mohammed Deif غزة...ظهور نادر لأطفال قائد "القسام" محمد الضيف . 3 July 2024 . www.aa.com.tr . 7 February 2022 . ar.
  14. News: Gaza war rages on, Hamas says Israel tried to kill its military chief. Reuters. 20 August 2014.
  15. Web site: Body of Deif's daughter, 3, pulled from Gaza rubble. The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. 21 August 2014. 21 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821231613/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Aug-21/267987-body-of-deifs-daughter-3-pulled-from-gaza-rubble.ashx#axzz3B22Iezk2. dead.
  16. News: 24 August 2014 . Terror chief Deif’s mother-in-law offers him her other daughters . 8 June 2024 . Times of Israel. "Should Deif request the hand of any of my other daughters, I will happily consent and even if she, too, is martyred I will consent to the third. It is an honor to have Deif a husband to any of my daughters and be a father to their children." - Zeian Asfura, (mother of Widad Deif)
  17. News: Gaza: Thousand mourn death of Hamas chief's wife, baby son . 14 May 2024 . Firstpost . 20 August 2014 . en-us.
  18. Web site: Sarah Mohamed Deeb Al Masry Children in Conflict . wanachildreninconflict.org . 29 June 2024.
  19. News: Rights . Al Mezan Center for Human . Al Dalu family, Gaza City . 15 August 2024 . Al Mezan Center for Human Rights . 26 June 2015 . en.
  20. http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamass-chief-of-staff-alive-and-active-israel-confirms/ 'Hamas's chief of staff alive and active, Israel confirms,'
  21. News: Killing of three senior military leaders deals a severe Israeli blow to Hamas . 4 July 2024 . Times of Israel (Arabic edition) . 22 August 2014.
  22. News: Gaza: Thousand mourn death of Hamas chief's wife, baby son . 14 May 2024 . Firstpost . 20 August 2014 . en-us.
  23. News: The body of the child Sarah Al-Deif was recovered from under the rubble . 29 June 2024 . palinfo.com . 21 August 2014 . ar.
  24. Web site: Body of Deif's daughter, 3, pulled from Gaza rubble. The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. 21 August 2014. 21 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821231613/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Aug-21/267987-body-of-deifs-daughter-3-pulled-from-gaza-rubble.ashx#axzz3B22Iezk2. dead.
  25. News: The body of the child Sarah Al-Deif was recovered from under the rubble . 29 June 2024 . palinfo.com . 21 August 2014 . ar.
  26. News: Israel Forces Continue Their Offensive on Gaza for 47th Consecutive Day; 20 Palestinians, 16 of Whom Are Civilians, Including 6 Children, Killed and 49 Others, Including 11 Children and 7 Women Wounded; Victims Include 5 Civilians, Including Child, Who We . 15 August 2024 . Palestinian Centre for Human Rights . . 22 August 2014.
  27. Web site: 2014-09-03 . Love in the time of Gaza: The story of Mohamed Al-Deif and his late wife Widad Asfoura . www.middleeastmonitor.com.

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