Israel reports killing of Hamas military chief

Israel's military has said that it killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif in an air strike in Gaza on 13 July.

Deif was head of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas.

An Israeli strike targeted a compound in the Khan Younis area.

At the time, Israel said that it did not have confirmation on the fate of Deif, but that another Hamas commander Rafa'a Salemeh, was killed.

Hamas has not confirmed the news of Deif's death, however at the time said that more than 90 people had been killed in the strike.

The BBC has reported Israel as saying that Deif was one of the figures responsible for the planning of the 7 October attacks.

Israeli authorities imprisoned Deif in 1989, and after that he formed the Brigades. Israel accused him of planning and supervising bus bombings which killed dozens in 1996, as well as involvement in the kidnap and killing of three Israeli soldiers in the mid-1990s.

The announcement follows others in the week, Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh was killed in Tehran and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut.