On the fifth day of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Israel Defense Forces asserted that it had hit over 200 targets in the Al Furkan neighborhood of the Gaza Strip, including the father's home of Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

According to reports, a number of his relatives—including his father, brother, and children—were reportedly killed in Khan Yunis. Mohammed Deif, the enigmatic character and one of the most sought-after men in Israel, is yet unknown. Since 2002, the wheelchair-bound leader has served as the head of Hamas' military branch. Mossad made numerous attempts to kill Deif, but he always managed to escape.

Who is Mohammed Deif?

Apart from the fact that Mohammed Deif was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza in the early 1960s, while Gaza was governed by Egypt, not much is known about him. "When Deif joined the organization in the late 1980s, he would have been a young man at the time Hamas was established. Deif immediately gained notoriety within the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, a branch of Hamas dedicated to violent struggle against Israel, according to a BBC profile of Deif from 2021.

Deif studied physics, chemistry, and biology at the Islamic University in Gaza, where he received a degree in science. He led the university's entertainment committee and appeared on stage in comedies, showing a passion for the arts.

Deif is known as "the cat with nine lives," but why?

Mohammed Deif, a one-eyed man who was severely hurt in some of the Israeli killings, is known as the "cat with nine lives" since he managed to survive five of them. An Israeli bombing murdered his wife, son, who was 7 months old, and daughter, who was 3 years old in 2014.

He wears a mask in videos or is only visible as a shadow. He doesn't make use of contemporary digital devices like cellphones.

Hamas launched tens of thousands of missiles into Israel on Saturday in a significant and historic strike. Mohammed Deif's voice was allegedly audible in a video message in which Hamas blamed the attack on the 16-year Gaza siege. Deif hardly often talks and never goes in front of the public, thus it was a rare event. "Al Aqsa's anger, the anger of our people, and the anger of our country are bursting today. "Today is your chance, mujahedeen (fighters), to show this criminal that his time is up," Deif stated in the audio clip.