Tel Aviv, Jan 7 (IANS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has revealed a photo of Mohammed Deif, the military commander of Hamas who has been elusive and the whereabouts of him not known for long.

Deif and Yahya Sinwar have been held responsible by Israel for the October 7 massacre in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and over 200 kidnapped.

The spokesperson of IDF Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed the photo for the first time, saying that it was found among some 70 million digital files recovered by the IDF in Gaza.

The image was revealed after a different photo of Deif, who has not been seen in public for years, began circulating in Israeli media

The IDF in a statement on Saturday said that the data recovered also includes details and information about Hamas officials who are located outside Gaza and that this had provided the army with important intelligence for the ongoing war.

In the photo Deif was seen holding a plastic cup filled with a dark liquid in one hand and a wad of US dollar bills in the other. looking at his watch. However Israeli Hebrew media reported that the photo is of 2018 and that it was likely to have been taken during a social event.

There were earlier reports that Deif had lost an arm and one or both of his legs in Israeli assassination attempts.

However in the new photo, both his arms are visible, but he appears to be missing an eye.