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Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer informed the US administration that "the possibility of Qassam commander Mohammed Deif surviving the assassination attempt is very small."
Israeli Channel 13 said on Tuesday evening that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was present at the talks with Israeli officials, requested clarification about the impact of the assassination on negotiations to conclude a prisoner exchange deal.
According to the channel, Dermer and Hanegbi responded by saying that "according to the estimates of all Israeli intelligence and security agencies, this increases the chances of success of the negotiations due to the guest's fanatical positions."
"Within two weeks we will know if there is progress in the negotiations to reach a deal," they added.
The Israeli military increasingly believes that Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas's military wing, was killed in an airstrike last Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip, though it is still awaiting final confirmation before making a public announcement.
The Israeli military says its intelligence that the guest had arrived at a compound belonging to Rafi Salama, the commander of Hamas's Khan Younis brigade, was highly accurate, and that they were together in the building when it was targeted with several heavy munitions, according to The Times of Israel.
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had received final confirmation that Salama had been killed in the raid. It has not yet received the same confirmation of information about al-Daif, and the Israeli military believes that Hamas will try to hide his death for a while .
According to Israeli military estimates, military pressure on Hamas prompted al-Daif to emerge from the underground tunnels where he was believed to be hiding and join Salameh, who had been in the compound for several weeks.
The army also claimed that a small number of civilians were injured in the attack, despite its proximity to Palestinian displaced persons camps in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.
It is worth noting that the Israeli bombing of the Mawasi area, which is classified as a "safe zone" in the southern Gaza Strip, led to the killing of 90 people.
For its part, Hamas denied what it called the Israeli army's "claims and lies" regarding the killing of Al-Daif, stressing that it listens to the Israeli Prime Minister and mocks his false statements.
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that half of the leadership of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, had been eliminated, in addition to the killing and capture of nearly 14,000 fighters since the start of the Israeli military campaign on the Gaza Strip.
The army added that it had eliminated senior leaders, including brigade and battalion commanders and company commanders, in addition to destroying thousands of targets of armed factions.
The Israeli military indicated that the war against Hamas in Gaza "will not continue indefinitely," explaining that it is "exploiting every minute" until a possible prisoner exchange deal is reached, and is prepared to deal with the consequences of a truce with Hamas, which may include forcing the Israeli army to withdraw completely from the Strip.
English (US)