The Israeli army’s spokeswoman for the Arab media, Lieutenant Colonel Ella Wawiyah, known as “Captain Ella,” published a post on the “X” platform, in which she attacked the former commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad al-Deif, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the Israeli raid that targeted him in the Gaza Strip. Wawiyeh had assumed the position of Israeli army spokeswoman for the Arab media in February 2026, succeeding Avichay Adraee.
Wawiyya recalled the phrase in which the guest announced, in an audio recording on the morning of October 7, 2023, the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” considering that he believed at the time that he was writing a page of “victory” for Hamas.
She added, “History is not written by murderers as they desire, but rather as their actions end,” noting that two years after the assassination of Al-Deif and the fall of a large number of leaders of the military wing of Hamas, all that remains, in her words, is devastation and destruction.
Wawiyya believed that the October 7 attack did not bring glory to the Hamas leadership, but rather represented the beginning of the final chapter of its career, accusing it of choosing a violent approach and causing the consequences that befell the Gaza Strip.
She concluded her post by saying that history will not immortalize Muhammad Al-Deif as a leader, but will put him, as she put it, in the “dustbin of history,” alongside everyone who planned, ordered, and carried out the October 7 attack.
Al-Dhaif appeared in a recording broadcast by Hamas on the morning of October 7, 2023, announcing the launch of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” coinciding with a large-scale attack carried out by Palestinian armed groups on Israeli towns and sites adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Israel accused Al-Deif of being one of the most prominent planners of the operation and supervising its implementation.
On July 13, 2024, the Israeli army carried out a massive air strike in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, which it said targeted Al-Deif and the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade in the Al-Qassam Brigades, Rafi Salama, based on intelligence information. The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced at the time that the raid led to the death of at least 90 Palestinians and the injury of about 300 others.
After weeks of ambiguity, the Israeli army announced on August 1, 2024 that it had confirmed the assassination of Al-Deif in the raid, confirming that he was commanding the military wing of the Hamas movement and had participated in planning the October 7 attack.
Hamas did not initially confirm the Israeli announcement, before the Al-Qassam Brigades announced on January 30, 2025 the martyrdom of Al-Deif, along with his deputy Marwan Issa and a number of other military commanders, thus ending months of speculation about his fate.
Al-Deif is considered one of the most prominent military figures who led the Al-Qassam Brigades over the years. He remained far from public appearance, and survived several Israeli assassination attempts before he was targeted in Al-Mawasi. His name was linked to developing the movement’s military capabilities and the network of tunnels and missiles, in addition to planning a number of operations against Israel.
Wawiyah’s publication comes within the framework of the Israeli media discourse that recalls the anniversary of the assassination of Hamas leaders, and links their fate to the October 7 attack, in an attempt to perpetuate the Israeli narrative, which considers that pursuing the planners and executors constitutes one of the primary goals of the war that broke out after the attack.
