[News Figures] Hamas' Secret Commander Identified as the Mastermind Behind Israel Invasion

Reclusive for 7 Years, Death Rumors Circulate
US and Israeli Intelligence Agencies Bewildered

A secret commander of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, who is known to have planned and designed the recent clashes between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, is drawing attention. Having stayed out of the public eye for the past seven years to evade the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, he is reported to have led Hamas's surprise attack this time, causing increased tension among Western intelligence agencies including Israel and the United States.

According to France 24 TV on the 10th (local time), investigations by Western intelligence agencies revealed that the person who led Hamas's surprise attack operation on the Israeli border area starting from the 7th was Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades. He has been on Israel's terrorist wanted list for over 30 years, but no external activities had been known for more than seven years, leading to rumors of his death at one point.

All his personal information, including his real name, has been shrouded in secrecy, earning him the title of secret commander. The only known information about him is that he is estimated to have been born in 1965 and that he was born in a refugee tent in the Gaza Strip. The name Deif, by which he is currently known, is a pseudonym meaning 'guest' in Arabic. According to France 24, to avoid assassination by Israel's Mossad, he never stayed in one place for more than a day, so even within Hamas, everyone calls him Deif, meaning guest.

The only known photo of him is from a video Hamas released in 2005. It is reported that he lost one eye and a leg during an Israeli military airstrike on the Gaza Strip in 2006, after the video was released, so his current appearance is presumed to be very different. France 24 also reported that within Hamas, he is sometimes called the 'cat with nine lives' because he survived multiple bombings and operations.

He began to attract the attention of Israel and Western intelligence agencies starting in 1995. He was originally known as an excellent bomb maker for Hamas. He is especially famous for designing and manufacturing the so-called 'Qassam rockets,' the main weapon Hamas uses to attack Israel. From 2002, he became the commander of Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, focusing mainly on tunnel construction and surprise attacks using rocket launchers. The recent surprise attack on Israel is also evaluated as reflecting his tactical characteristics.

Having once been rumored dead, his leading role in this surprise attack has led to criticism of the intelligence capabilities of Mossad and U.S. intelligence agencies, and a large-scale organizational restructuring is expected in the future.