GAZA CITY: Hamas on Thursday confirmed the death of its military chief Mohammed Deif, whose killing Israel had announced last year in an air strike in Gaza.

`The Al-Qassam Brigades announce to our great people the martyrdom of a group of distinguished fighters and heroic commanders... commander Mohammed Deif, chief of staff of the Al-Qassam Brigades (and) commander Marwan Issa, deputy chief of staff,` the armed wing of Hamas announced.

Israel had accused Deif of being one of the masterminds of the Oct 7 attack. Israel`s military said in August that it had killed Deif the previous month, but Hamas had not confirmed this until now.

Deif was widely seen as the second-ranking Hamas official in Gaza, behind Yahya Sinwar, the group`s leader in the territory, who was also killed by Israeli forces last year, BBC reported.

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year issued an arrest warrant for Deif, alongside Israel`s PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. In its statement on Thursday, Hamas also announced the death of deputy military commander Marwan Issa.

The US announced Issa`s death in March last year, as per BBC. Issa was the deputy commander of Hamas`s military wing and was considered one of Israel`s mostwanted men.-AFP