Posted on 08/20/2014 9:49:32 AM PDT by Dave346
Hamas' military chief is believed to have been killed in an airstrike in Gaza early Wednesday, Israeli intelligence sources tell Fox News.
Israeli officials said Wednesday the country's military targeted Mohammed Deif after militants fired rockets at Israeli cities just hours before a temporary cease-fire was set to expire.
The Times of Israel reported that a house believed to be the home of Deif was hit early Wednesday. Dief has escaped numerous Israeli assassination attempts in the past. It was not immediately clear whether he was there at the time of the attack.
A Hamas spokesman said Deif was not present during the strike on a Gaza house. Five people were killed, including Deif's wife and infant son, Hamas officials said.
Israeli government officials expressed support for the operation throughout the day Wednesday.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told the news website Ynet that "[Dief's] his liquidation is not just legitimate but desirable, in my opinion."
Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Perry, a former head of the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, told Israel's Army Radio that "if there had been intelligence that Mohammad Deif was not in that house, we would not have blown it up."
"With the assumption that Israel was behind this, it shows its intelligence capabilities...and it is an important indication that no head of the Hamas military wing is immune to a targeted killing," he added.
He said a security cabinet meeting would be held Wednesday afternoon to discuss developments.
The fighting resumed one day after Egyptian efforts to bring the month-long conflict to an end collapsed, prompting Israel to withdraw its delegation from Cairo.
The Israeli military said it carried out some 60 airstrikes on Gaza targets, and that Palestinians had fired at least 80 rockets at Israel since the temporary truce collapsed.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
One down thousands to go.
Keep up the good work IAF!
Deif eh? Bet he is now dumb as a post. Deif and dumb.
PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yaalon to deliver statement at 8pm local time (1pm ET).
http://www.i24news.tv/en/tv/live
Someone forgot to take his human shield this morning.
Hamas warns all international airlines to halt flights through Ben Gurion’s Airport beginning at 6:00am local tomorrow.
Deif is dead!
Escalation has begun....
All the other sources say he’s NOT dead, just the wife and child.
Netanyahu’s statement likely to be delayed since Zero decided to speak 10 minutes before Netanyahu’s press conference.
Bibi’s statement is over, mic passed to a defense guy.
Sounded like a re-statement of the Primary (secondary and tertiary as well) commitment to protect Israeli’s, especially in the South, surrounding Gaza; nothing specific about Deif the Dumb.
Isn’t killing Hamas military leaders like stomping on cockroaches? You mash a few you can see, but there’s thousands more hiding in the walls to come scurrying out to take their place?
Awaitin neutral confirmation on Deif’s death. Now, on to ISIS’ Bagdadi.
He’s dead because HAMAS then said that the Israelis have “Opened the Gates of Hell”, blah, blah, blah...
That usually means HAMAS has been hit hard.
True but you have to dry up the sources of their feeding and then keep killing them over a long period of time. Qatar, Turkey and Iran are keeping this thing going. It is important for each new cockroach to know he's going to die soon.
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