The mother-in-law of the martyred commander Mohammed Deif, head of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ General Staff—the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas”—has mourned the prominent Palestinian leader, describing how he treated her with utmost respect and kindness, “as if she were his own mother.”
On Thursday, activists circulated a video clip on social media showing Deif’s mother-in-law expressing her sorrow following the confirmation of his martyrdom by Al-Qassam during the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle.
She stated, “On behalf of myself, the free people of Gaza, the Arab world, and the entire Islamic nation, I extend my deepest condolences on the loss of this great man, our heroic martyr, Abu Khaled Deif.”
Speaking about her relationship with Deif, she added, “I was like his mother. I may be his wife’s mother, but I felt his kindness towards me as if I were his own mother.” She continued, “His relationship with us was as if we were his family. Even after losing my daughter, he never deprived me of my grandchildren.”
The mother-in-law of Deif described him as “a man of unparalleled virtue, as if he were from the era of the Prophet’s Companions.” She added, “By Allah, I will never see a man like him, even if I lived a thousand times over.”
On Thursday evening, the Al-Qassam Brigades officially announced the martyrdom of their supreme commander, Mohammed Deif, along with six members of its military council during the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle.
This declaration sheds light on Deif’s legendary figure, a man whom the occupation pursued for over 30 years yet repeatedly failed to assassinate. He masterminded the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, which dealt a strategic blow to the occupiers.
Deif’s face remained unknown to the public for decades, until Al-Qassam revealed a recent image of him when announcing his martyrdom in the battle.
For over 30 years, Deif was subjected to relentless assassination attempts, with the most intense occurring between 2001 and 2006.
He sustained severe injuries in one such attempt, losing an eye and suffering a critical hand injury in 2002. He was left on the roadside, unrecognized, until he was rescued and received medical treatment, miraculously surviving.
One of the most infamous assassination attempts against him took place in 2014 during the brutal aggression on Gaza. The occupation bombed an entire residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, killing his wife and one of his children. Despite the devastating attack, Deif survived yet again, continuing his resistance until his final martyrdom.
