Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif, one of the masterminds behind what Israel termed its 9/11 moment, is an elusive figure who has rarely spoken and never appeared in public, and who has survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts.

Deif was the target of an Israeli strike on Saturday on the Gaza town of Khan Younis, the Israeli military said. It was unclear whether Deif was killed, a security official said.

In the months since Israel launched its retaliatory campaign after the Hamas-led raid on southern Israel on October 7, Deif is believed to have been directing military operations from the tunnels and backstreets of Gaza, alongside senior colleagues.

Rising up the Hamas ranks over 30 years, Deif developed the group’s network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise. He has topped Israel’s most wanted list for decades, held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

He and two other Hamas leaders in Gaza formed a three-man military council that planned the October 7 raid, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies, in the bloodiest attack in Israel’s 75-year history.

After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vowed to kill the three: Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Deif, head of the military wing, and Marwan Issa his deputy, who was reported killed by Israel in March.

In an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets on October 7, Deif named the raid “Al-Aqsa Flood”.