JERUSALEM - The Israeli army announced Thursday that Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas' military wing, was killed by Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis area in the Gaza Strip on July 13. 

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will respond with overwhelming force to any counter-attacks, following the killing of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut.

"Challenging days are ahead," Netanyahu said in a broadcast address to the nation, noting "since the strike in Beirut, threats are heard from everywhere."

He said the country is prepared "for any scenario," adding it "will exact a very heavy price against any aggression -- from any front."

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Netanyahu says that in recent days, Israel targeted militant allies of Iran, citing strikes in Yemen and Lebanon, which killed Fouad Shokor, a Hezbollah top military commander on Wednesday night.

Netanyahu maintained his hardline stance against international calls to end the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. "I didn't surrender to these voices then and will not now."

Israel launched its offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Oct 7 last year, following a surprise attack by Hamas militants in which about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

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According to Gaza-based health authorities, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 39,445 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and displaced approximately 2 million people.