Hamas warlord ‘The Guest’ pictured for first time in DECADES as rare photo shows Oct 7 boss has lost one eye

HAMAS warlord Mohammed Deif has been pictured for the first time in DECADES with only one-eye after a life spent dodging Israeli assassins and strikes.

The net is closing in on the shadowy mastermind of the terror group's October 7 attacks as Israel's relentless hunt for Hamas's top leaders rages on.

Israel's most wanted terror chief, Deif, 58, has long haunted the Gaza Strip as the commander of al-Qassam brigades, Hamas’s military wing.

But now a new photo of Deif, which means "The Guest" in Arabic, has been uncovered inside Gaza that reveals him looking older. It was reportedly taken in 2018.

Before this, there were only two existing decades-old photos of Deif after not being seen in public for decades.

The fresher image, published by Channel 12, appears to show Deif missing an eye - possibly confirming earlier reports of the severe injuries he sustained after surviving an Israeli air strike in 2021.

He was believed to be wheelchair bound after losing both legs, an arm and one of his eyes in the assassination attempt.

However, an IDF report from last week suggested the Hamas leader is in better physical condition than previously thought.

He was said to be walking around with nothing more than a slight limp.

Deif is dubbed “The Guest” as a nod to his life spent on the run, moving through the darkness of Hamas's terror tunnels and staying with sympathisers almost every night to evade assassination.

Israel believes he is the architect behind Hamas's killing spree inside southern Israel that left 1,200 dead and some 240 dragged back into Gaza.

The new photo surfaced only days after Israeli troops raided and blitzed his house as they got one step closer to the elusive figure.

They found key evidence including his ID card and information about his children as well as a tunnel shaft that contained rocket launchers and weapons.

But Deif remains the man who Israel has been unable to kill after surviving seven assassination attempts.

The IDF has been ferociously pushing on with its offensive into the southern city of Khan Younis as they close in on other members of Hamas's top brass, including "Gaza's Bin Laden".

Military reports claim that Yahya Sinwar evaded death twice last week by escaping through the network of terror tunnels.

Israel, shielded by the US, has resisted international pressure to scale back its offensive and has said it would press on until Hamas has been totally eliminated.

Months of fighting lie ahead in southern Gaza - which Israel has dubbed "the new capital of terror - but is an area densely packed with the majority of the enclave's 2.3 million people who earlier fled the fighting in the north.

With homes destroyed, they are living in crowded shelters and struggling to find food, fuel, water and medical supplies. Diseases are spreading, and communications have been repeatedly cut.

The Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza claim that over 20,000 have been killed since Israel began its relentless bombardment and invasion of the densely-populated enclave.

This allegedly includes at least 8,000 children and 6,200 women.

On Tuesday, Israeli leaders said they were steeled for two more years of war in Gaza.

Ministers were told the army is about to enter phase three of the war to wipe out the terror group as a military force that could be finished by summer or in two years.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “The war in Gaza will be a long, hard war. It has costs — heavy costs — but its justification is the highest that can be. We need determination, endurance, strength and national cohesion with the goals."

The statements come amid ongoing fears that the Israel-Hamas war risks a regional spillover as Iranian proxies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq continue launch attacks on Israel and its allies in support of Hamas.

Clashes in Israel's north with Hezbollah have continued to intensify, with continuous rockets and missiles thrown over the border.

In the Red Sea, the Houthi rebels have been wreaking havoc by attacking any vessels seen to be travelling to and from Israeli ports - hijacking boats and launching rocket and drone attacks.

The Islamist militant group is holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage by turning one of the world's busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.

The US has been forced to lead a multinational task force to attempt to restore order and the free movement of goods.