The air strike against the Hamas leader was carried out in mid-July in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. But since then, it has been unclear whether he really died.
"Mohammad Dayf, 'Gaza's Usama bin Ladin', was eliminated on July 13", writes Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on X. "It is a clear milestone in the process of eliminating Hamas as a military and governing organization in the Gaza Strip".
Dayf was actually named Mohammad al-Masri, but began to be called Dayf ("the guest") due to the nomadic life many years of fleeing from Israel had forced him to lead.
He is described as responsible for many bloody deeds in Israel, and has been on the country's most-wanted terrorist list for 30 years. But outwardly, Dayf has kept such a low profile that there is only a single photograph of him.
In the war that is now raging, Dayf has been pointed out as one of the masterminds behind the major terrorist attack against Israel on October 7.
Israel has tried to kill him many times, but always failed – until now.
Thus, Israeli attacks in a short time have taken the lives of three of the country's most notorious enemies, in addition to Dayf, also Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
