can the israelis find mohammed deif? that's going to be difficult.for nearly two decades. he's an individual who has very savvy communications and operational security, but absolutely, he is the individual that they have to identify, find, prosecute or eliminate. reminder the pictures that you are seeing on your screen preparations for a press conference with yoav gallant and the us secretary of defence, lloyd austin. we understand their press conferences due to start in about an hour. we are also expecting at some point to hear statements after discussions between the us secretary of state antony blinken and the palestinian leader mahmoud bass. we will bring you that as soon as we get them. we will bring you that as soon as we get them. it was last saturday when hamas, designated as a terror organisation by many western governments, including the uk, murdered hundreds of young people, enjoying a music festival. lucy williamson has visited the scene of the atrocity, and spoken to survivors. her report contains images you made find distressing. since

and i guess if you look at the career of mohammed deif, the one thing that -- except for his survivalch is unusual in the military wing, the one thing is a constant is his belief there wasn't going to be a political solution to essentially a political conflict without some cataclysmic event. and i think that's what he set out to deliver in the most horrific of ways. >> nicolas, can you speak more broadly about qatar. they were crucial in the release on friday and this piece. the reckoning is coming, atlantic piece, argues for too long doha danced between its western and arab partners. the music stopped. talk about the huge influence that qatar has over hamas but also the huge connection it has to the west, to the united states specifically, negotiating hostage releases like this. >> it is absolutely correct that qatar of all the states in the gulf has been dancing and -- it was backing islamist movements at the time of the arab spring 12 years ago. at the same time, it's been dancing that islamic dance, in many ways at the behest of the west, whether it's in the negotiating with the t

a man with a nom de guerre of the guest, mohammed deif, is the commander of the military wing of hamas attack. given your expertise in the region, what do you know about him? are i know he has been wanted by the state of israel and certainly by the us and israeli allies for in excess of a decade and a half. i'm sure he is taking full credit for the planning and orchestration of the attack as it bolsters his prestige among hamas and other terrorist organisations in the region. his whereabouts are unknown. if they were known he would no longer be on this earth. us department of defence has announced a big tranche of military support going to israel, including moving the uss ford strike group into position. what impact will that have? firstly, it will assist with strategic deterrence. our president was clear that he wanted to send a strong signal of support to prime minister netanyahu and the citizens of israel but as important to other terrorist organisations in the region, specifically state sponsors of terrorism such, as iran and hezbollah, that any involvement of piling onto the atroc

then you have in gaza, essentially a military leadership which is much more hard core, you have mohammed deifleader and these are people who've shown no of any quarter with israel and still believe that a military solution is the only way to go. they still believe, as they are busy trying to do in this assault, to try and cause so much pain and hurt to israel that israel will either bow and leave. there is the greatest hope. or will be pressured into compromise is propping up the right word but in giving the palestinians more than properly what is expecting the hamas leadership or whoever, they will feel that they have made their point. as we say, israel has vowed the total obliteration of hamas but they are at the moment are definitely in the lead. they have the upper hand as far as hamas is concerned. they would be, you know, giving a sense that what they have done has change the status quo that has existed all of these years. nothing else have done that. through their actions. they will claim, this is what they will try to say, they haven't killed any civilians. anyone in israel is guilty,

hamas military commander mohammadmohammed deif hamas military commander mohammed deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on hamas media, calling on palestinians everywhere to fight. israel's military has been striking targets in gaza in response. at least 161 palestinians are confirmed dead there. we had that in the last half an hour. overiooo we had that in the last half an hour. over 1000 palestinians have hour. 0ver1000 palestinians have been injured. i can also tell you now that there is a state of national emergency right across israel. richard galpin has the latest. this was a surprise attack on israel by the militant palestinian group, hamas. it's claiming it's launched 5,000 rockets injust 20 minutes. some have hit the city of ashkelon causing damage. amongst those on the ground, more hamas fighters heading into the battle. there is also footage apparently showing a captured israeli tank. a senior hamas commander has said the militant group have decided to say enough is enough. here in this israeli town, the emergency services have been taking the injured to local

remember that mohammed deif, who is the spokesman for hamas, the military wing of hamas, has called on up, notjust on the gaza strip but in the west bank as well. islamicjihad, and other militant groups like the smaller the hamas, have said they are going to join in. if hezbollah, and there is no suggestion at the moment this would happen, but if hezbollah in lebanon got involved, and they would find themselves under attack from two borders, israel. hezbollah have an formidable arsenal of weapons, mostly supplied with help from iran. we continue to bring you international reaction as well to events as they are unfolding. we understand that president biden has been briefed on what he calls the appalling hamas terrorist attacks. president biden has been briefed, as the us condemns the violence and urges both sides to refrain from retaliating. egypt is often called in to mediate between israel and the palestinians. they are also calling for restraint, and are warning of dire consequences. a line to bring you from the international committee of the red cross, they saved the —— they say tha

only two photographs exist of mohammed deif he will massry nearly 60. he is known as el deif because he is a guest at a different location every night. he is the monster behind the murder of more than 1,000 in israel. and the kidnapping of about 150 hostages. >> from the beginning of his life he was very much interested in fighting the occupation. >> reporter: in the mid 1990s, he was believed to be behind a wave of uatrocities in israel. and he is believed to have lost an arm and leg in an israeli airstrike aimed at him that killed his wife and daughter. over the last two years, hamas has pretended to focus on welfare, not warfare. all the while under the table hamas was preparing this big attack. israel meanwhile invested in a high technology iron wall against gaza and focused forces on the west bank. al deif encouraged israeli complacency. and last weekend it hit hard. attacking communication towers and automated machine guns with drones overrunning command and control centers. killing senior officers, among them three colonels. and unleashing terror

so far unscathed is the top military leadership, including mohammed deif who has survived previous assassinationits members who have been killed. however, most importantly, the third list is the senior most political leadership of hamas. so far, they have not been hit, they have escaped unscathed, in part because many of the senior members are located abroad in lebanon on and qatar and other countries. 50 lebanon on and qatar and other countries. lebanon on and qatar and other countries-— countries. so the targeting is of both the perpetrators _ countries. so the targeting is of both the perpetrators of - countries. so the targeting is of both the perpetrators of the - countries. so the targeting is of both the perpetrators of the actj countries. so the targeting is of i both the perpetrators of the act of terror and they are also targeting politicians. but tell me, what is the relationship between these two groups? the relationship between these two arou s? . , , the relationship between these two u-rous? . , ,., ., the relationship between these two u-rous? . , ,. ., ., groups? clearly, there

at the time of the explosion , the family of mohamed ad-deif was in the building. result of the shelling , the militant's immediate relatives were killed, including his father, brother and several children. it is still unknown where the commander himself was at that time. this is not the first attempt on the life of a military man, but in the past he always managed to survive. tel aviv reads. he was one of the first terrorists; in palestine, muhammad ad-deifa is called a symbol of the struggle for freedom. and the way out of the crisis in the middle east is possible only on the basis of a formula approved by the un security council. it provides for the creation of an independent palestinian state within the borders of 1967, with its capital in east jerusalem. this was emphasized by vladimir putin and recep tayyip erdogan, the presidents of russia and turkey had a telephone conversation. as reported. the kremlin focused on the situation in the zone of the palestinian-israeli conflict. leaders expressed concern about the catastrophic rise in civilian casualties. in a

it is reported that the family of mohammed ad-deif was in the building.he militant's immediate relatives were killed as a result of the shelling. including his father, brother and several children. it is still unknown where the commander himself was at that time. previously. he had already had several assassination attempts, but the military man always managed to survive. tel arif considers him a terrorist; in palestine, mohammed otdeifa is called a symbol of the struggle for freedom. the number of victims in israel has increased to 1,200, as reported by the country's ministry of health. casualties in the gas sector twice as much - they write in the media. the israeli army is launching a full offensive, authorities said. meanwhile, the palestinians accused tel aviv of using prohibited ammunition with white. rubble of houses, thick smoke fills the streets of the gaza strip this night, the israeli army continues to strike hamas positions, israel is launching a full offensive, the country's authorities said, gas will never be the same, we will destroy everyt

. >> all planned, it's believed, by a shadowy hamas commander known as mohammed al deif, the guest. >om the beginning of his life he was very much interested in fighting the israeli occupation. >> he's known as al deif, the guest, because it's claimed he moves location every night. >> and i think that was very clear that whethey went to this music festival, just a bunch of young people partying in the desesert, they did so wi the intent to murder as many of the participants as they possibly could. [ gunfire ] it's quite obvious that was their goal, and they did it quite effectively. >> having seen what happened, that this is the first step of a larger plan that hamas has. and i think the israeli defense forces also understand that. and that's why they are in a really hard planning process for how they are going to execute their operations against hamas inside of gaza. because they know that it was purposeful. not only the killing outside the gate but the taking of hostages and going back inside the gates of gaza. and i believe hamas is planning for a much longer-term conflict compared

but that takes us to mohamed el deif. el deif is his alias, it means the guest, because he never sleeps in the same place two night s in a row. he usually sleeps in places that are in those tunnels or moving from house to house. he has been with hamas, born in 1965, grew up in a refugee camp in southern gaza. oddly, in college, his main interest was in drama, but as he got into the interfada, spent time in israeli prison, came back, in the '90s he quickly rose through the ranks. but when you look at him, think back to that time. the bombings of the buses, the bombings of the restaurants crowded with tourists and israelis. this is the period where he made his mark, targeted by israel, his locations were attacked. he lost two children, he lost an arm, he lost a leg, but he is a committed warrior. >> he lost an arm and a leg and is still moving every night. >> as half of his hearing. but if you want to know who is the tactical mastermind between what we've seen in the last week, that would be el deif. >> john, thank you. rea

deif, the guest. only two photographs exist of mohammed diab ibrahim al masri who is nearly 60. he is known as al deif because he is a guest in a different location every night. he is the mastermind or monster behind the murder of more than 1,000 in israel. and the kidnapping of about 150 hostages. >> from the beginning of his life, he was very much insisted in the fighting. >> reporter: he was believed to be behind a wave atrocities in israel in 1990s. and in 2014, he is believed to have lost an arm and leg in an israeli airstrike aimed at him that killed his wife and daughter. for the last two years, hamas has pretended to focus on welfare, not warfare. >> all the while under the table has mass was preparing this big attack. >> reporter: and israel invested in high technology iron wall around gaza and focused forces on the west bank. and deif encouraged israeli complacency. and last weekend it hit hard attacking communication towers and automated machine guns with drones, overrunning command and control centers. killing senior officers among them three colonels. and unleashing

mohammed deif said this.ly has been utterly condemned by him. and i imagine the rest of the government obviously , the government obviously, there's going to be a tremendous amount of reaction to this in the coming minutes. but the time at the moment, quarter to ten, you're listening and watching gb news breakfast. but sadly, with this appalling news that there are very serious conditions going on in israel with hamas attacking at the moment in case you're just joining us, israel has declared war after being attacked by hamas, as we just said, up to 2200 projectiles have landed in gaza from the occupied palestinian area . occupied palestinian area. >> and it's been declared as an act of war. both sides now calling this open war. >> i mean, this has only been happening in the last few minutes. the palestinian islamist group hamas has launched the biggest attack on israel in years in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into several israeli towns with a heavy barrage of rockets fired from the gaza s