Only Qassam leadership can confirm or deny commander's death: Hamas leader

ISTANBUL

Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq said Thursday that the confirmation or denial of the death of Qassam Brigades' commander Mohammed Deif is solely the responsibility of the brigades' leadership, emphasizing that no external announcements, including media reports, can verify such information.

The Israeli army on Thursday claimed that Deif, the commander of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip last month.

"Confirming or denying the death of any Qassam commander is the business of the Brigades and the movement's leadership,” al-Rishq said in a statement on Telegram.

“Without an announcement from them, no news published in the media or by any other party can be confirmed," he added without elaborating.

The Israeli army claimed that it obtained intelligence information in the last few hours confirming Deif’s death.

Hamas previously denied that Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 13 in Khan Younis that killed over 90 Palestinians and injured 300 others.

The Israeli claim came one day after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in an airstrike in the Iranian capital, Tehran, early Wednesday.

While Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, Tel Aviv has not yet confirmed or denied its responsibility.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 39,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar