Israeli media discussion in its coverage of the war on the Gaza Strip focused on the role played by Muhammad al-Deif, commander-in-chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and on the issue of Israeli prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.
Elior Levy, head of the Palestinians department at Kan 11 TV, believed that Al-Deif’s interference in the military arm of Hamas was “very deep,” and “he was interfering in very delicate matters to the point that he was concerned with the wings of missiles.” He said that his physical disability did not mean He is mentally disabled.
For his part, Reserve General Tamir Hayman, former director of the National Security Research Institute, said that Al-Deif “has cognitive ability, and he has become a symbol and a legend after surviving several assassination attempts. Simply mentioning his name motivates the fighters,” referring to Palestinian fighters. .
Ohid Himo, a Palestinian affairs correspondent on Channel 12, claimed that the leader of the Hamas movement had been living in dark rooms for many years, and that Israeli information confirms that he suffers from paralysis on the left side of his body and lack of vision in one eye after being subjected to one of the assassination attempts. By Israel.
Despite his importance and great centrality in the Hamas movement, Al-Deif “is nothing more than a tool in this organization, and even after his liquidation, someone will come to fill his place,” according to lawyer Gonen Ben-Yitzhak, a former employee of the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet). Ben-Yitzhak says, “ His liquidation is important on the principled level and on the level of pursuing these figures.”
The Israeli media also focused on the controversy surrounding Israeli prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance, and the inability of the military and political leadership to achieve the goals declared by Israel for its war on Gaza.
Israeli Channel 14 quoted Doron Matza, a specialist in the Arab-Israeli conflict, as saying that if Israel were satisfied with achieving the goal of returning detainees only, it would lose the battle, and would pay a heavy strategic price for that in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Avi Shimrez, the father of one of the prisoners killed by the Israeli army, expressed his opposition to returning the prisoners through the use of force.