Who was Mohammed Taif, the mastermind behind the brutal October 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel?

After breaking out of a Jewish prison in 1990, he joined the Al Qassam Brigades, an armed wing of Hamas whose mission was to capture Israeli soldiers. Mohammed Taif Since then, the legend of an elusive man who survived Israel’s many attacks has been forged.

The Israeli army bombarded the area Mawasiin the south Gaza StripIn an attack, directed against “based on intelligence information”. Daif and Rafa SalamaCommander of the Khan Younis Brigade, the military wing of Hamas.

Born in Khan Yunis refugee camp in 1965, his nom de guerre ‘Deif’ means ‘guest’ in Arabic, referring to his ability to constantly change locations; But it is also known as the ‘Cat of Nine Lives’ for its ability to evade attacks.

In fact, Israel considers him — along with the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip — Yahya Chinwar– He Brain and planner The October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli soil killed 1,200 and kidnapped 250 and unleashed the current war.

“Enough is enough,” Taif later insisted in an extraordinary video released by Hamas, hours after the attack, a major military operation by the “resistance” they dubbed the “al Aqsa flood”.

They say they started planning the move in May 2021Israel and Hamas have already clashed in the height of the eleven-day war, fueled by a series of tensions and police charges over the esplanade of mosques where the holy shrine of Al Aqsa is located.

Little is known about his legendary life. At the Islamic University of Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology, they say he was part of a theater group called “The Returned”. Avi MelamduA former Israeli intelligence officer maintained that hobby within Hamas, starring in its propaganda videos.

Taif, who joined Hamas at the start of the first intifada in 1987, was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent 16 months in prison. DAfter his release, he returned to Gaza in 1990, where he began his rapid rise through the terrorist group’s ranks.

The US has Deif on its list of terrorist agents He has been on Israel’s most wanted list since 1995 For his role in planning and executing countless attacks, including suicide bombings that killed dozens of Israelis.

He was jailed again in 2000 but escaped. In 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, he was appointed head of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, after Israel killed its leader. Saleh Shehada; And since then Daif was the creator of the terrorist group’s entire military strategy.

Since then, only three photographs of him are known: only one is dated, the second is a mask, and the third is his silhouette. To him living in the shadows was a matter of life or death; And not using modern technology to avoid being tracked.

“He has been the target of several Israeli assassination attempts, which are believed to have left him disfigured or partially paralyzed, and cost him several members of his family,” it said. Hugh LovattA Middle East expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, he has spent his career researching and writing.

During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, Taif’s wife, 3-year-old daughter and 7-month-old son were killed in an attack on their home. Since then, he has spent much of his time underground, eluding Israeli intelligence, in a sophisticated network of underground tunnels that he helped design.

“He really has a bunker mentality. “He’s a man in the shadows.”Lovatt says.

Unverified reports over the years suggest that Teif is blind in one eye, has lost some of his limbs, and has speech impediments; Intelligence gathered during the current war in Gaza, leaked to the Hebrew media, indicates that Taif was more intact than Israel had believed.

If his death is confirmed, it will be a severe blow to Hamas, the military aspect has dipped into the political, as Daif has been at the center of the group’s strategic shift, along with Chinwar. It was she who planned the attack on October 7, and the political wing discovered that the plan had already progressed.

In negotiations for a ceasefire, the military center has the last word, according to Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau in exile in Qatar.

(with information from EFE)