'Mohammad Deif is listening to you now', Hamas official says in message to Netanyahu

Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera Arabic that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had wished to declare a "fake victory" during his news conference earlier announcing an assassination attempt against top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.

Hayya reiterated that Israel's claims about targeting Deif are false "despite the pain for the dozens of victims and martyrs, most of whom were women and children".

"The blood of Mohammad Deif is not more valuable or better than the blood of the smallest Palestinian child. Still, we tell Netanyahu: You have failed. Mohammad Deif is listening to you now and mocking your false, empty statements," Hayya said during the interview.