✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Mohammed Deif

Mohammed Deif biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Mohammed Deif Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 10, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth1965

Age58 Years

BirthplaceKhan Yunis, Gaza Strip

ProfessionCommander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades

NationalityPalestinian

Marital statusWidowed

SpouseWidad Asfoura

FamilySon Ali (deceased); Daughter Sara (deceased); Brother Abd al-Fattah Diab (deceased); Mother deceased (January 2011)

Mohammed Deif Biography

Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, is a Palestinian militant and the long-time commander of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Q

Early life and background

Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. His family came from the village of Al-Qubeiba and fled during the 1948 war. Growing up in a low-income household, he left school temporarily to help support his family, working in textile and upholstery, in poultry farming and as a driver before returning to complete his education.

Deif earned a science degree from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1988, studying subjects including physics, chemistry and biology. While at university he was active in cultural life, founding an Islamic theatre group and serving as head of the student Muslim Brotherhood union, an organization from which Hamas later emerged.

Career

Deif became involved with Hamas in the years after the movement’s founding in 1987. In 1989 he was detained by Israeli authorities and held without trial for roughly 16 months on suspicion of involvement in military activities. During the early 1990s he worked closely with figures such as Yahya Ayyash and Adnan al-Ghoul; Ayyash is reported to have taught him explosive techniques and Deif is credited with contributing to the development of the Qassam rocket.

In the early 1990s Deif and colleagues organized the armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Over the following decade he rose through its ranks and became recognized as a principal military leader. After the 1995 death of Yahya Ayyash and the 2002 killing of the previous Qassam leader, Deif assumed leadership of the brigades.

His tenure has been marked by numerous operations against Israeli targets across the 1990s and 2000s, including bombings and abductions. He survived multiple detention episodes and reportedly escaped from Palestinian authorities in 2000. Over more than two decades Israeli forces attempted to kill him repeatedly; these incidents injured him severely on several occasions, leaving him with the loss of an eye, the partial loss of an arm and spinal injuries sustained in an airstrike.

Deif has been a prominent strategic voice within Hamas. He resurfaced publicly in 2005 in a recorded message following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and in subsequent years issued warnings and statements regarding developments in Jerusalem and Gaza. In 2015 the United States Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. In 2023 he was identified as a mastermind of a surprise multi-front attack referred to as Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

Public profile

Because of his long history of surviving assassination attempts and targeted strikes, Deif has been widely described in media as extremely elusive. Reports indicate he adopted a highly mobile lifestyle, changing locations frequently to avoid detection. Family tragedy has been part of his public story: in 2014 an Israeli strike killed his wife and two young children, and in 2023 an airstrike killed his brother.

Accounts in the public record describe Deif as having been central to the Qassam Brigades’ direction for many years and as a leading figure in the military strategy of Hamas. Media outlets have applied nicknames to him that emphasize his ability to survive repeated attacks.

Latest updates

By 2023 Deif was reported to have survived seven attempts on his life over a span of about 20 years, including multiple airstrikes. In 2023 he was linked to the planning of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. The Israel Defense Forces targeted numerous locations in Gaza during the ensuing conflict, with one strike hitting the home of Deif’s father and resulting in the death of his brother.

Despite long-standing efforts to remove him, Deif has remained a central, though clandestine, figure in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and in Hamas’s military leadership.
◈

Recent Work

Operation Al-Aqsa Storm (mastermind)

Credited in 2023 as a principal planner of a surprise multi-front attack on Israel known as Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

2023
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Founder and long-time commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
  2. Survived multiple assassination attempts and airstrikes over two decades
  3. Linked to development of the Qassam rocket and early explosives expertise
  4. Designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State in 2015
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Mohammed Deif born?

1965

What is Mohammed Deif known for?

Commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades

What is Mohammed Deif’s marital status?

Widowed

Who is Mohammed Deif married to?

Widad Asfoura