Avi Issacharoff, military commentator and creator of the TV series Fauda, spoke on Sunday morning on 103FM radio to analyze Hamas's reaction after the dramatic assassination attempt on Mohammed Deif.
"There is a kind of shock [in Gaza]," Issacharoff began. "The reactions from senior Hamas officials who are not in Gaza are mostly confused. I saw a live report of the assassination on a channel affiliated with Hezbollah that was removed soon after. I don't think they fully understand what happened. It will take some time to reach Qatar. It is difficult to say that it will be possible to identify exactly who was taken out. There are many dead bodies, and there is nothing left to identify. I don't think it will be so easy for Hamas to understand and admit what happened."
Deif turned Hamas into military empire
Issacharoff clarified, "I have not heard an official announcement from Hamas saying Deif is alive. I don't think there is complete coordination there. Regarding the firing of the rockets, Hamas does not have the same abilities that it had in the past. They might attempt to keep firing to show they can manage without Deif. Either way, this is a massive blow to Hamas, much more significant than Sinwar, I believe.
"Deif turned Hamas into a military empire," Isssacharoff continued. "Sinwar sees that Deif, who was one of the seniors in the Hamas military wing, and [several other senior figures] who were in the headquarters before the war, are gone now. Every week that goes by, another one [is eliminated]. Hamas is dwindling. Their military capabilities are still there, but their ability to harm the Israeli side is diminishing, and they understand this very well."
As for the effect of the Deif assassination on the conflict in the North, Issacharoff said, "I'm not sure that the assassination has that much of an effect there. On October 8, Hezbollah stayed on the sidelines to watch. On the other hand, the systematic damage to the organization's leaders is already a change in Hamas. They are no longer an organized military organization."