JERUSALEM (AP) Israel Hamas’ shadow military commander A massive attack in the southern Gaza Strip has killed at least 71 people, local health officials said.
I didn’t realize it right away, but Mohammed Deif He was among the dead, but Israeli officials confirmed that he and Hamas’ second commander, Rafa Salama, were the targets.
Deif is believed by many to be the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and sparked war between Israel and Hamas. He has long been at the top of Israel’s most wanted list and is believed to have evaded multiple Israeli assassination attempts in the past. His killing could derail cease-fire talks and would be seen as a major Israeli victory in the nine-month military operation.
Hamas denied the allegations. “This is not the first time that occupation forces have claimed to be targeting Palestinian leaders, and their lies were later proven false,” the group said in a post on X.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said the claim that Deif was the target of the attack was an “unfounded statement”, adding that it was “made in the context of justifying and covering up crimes and massacres”.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 289 people were wounded in the attack, and many of the injured and dead were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital, where an Associated Press reporter counted more than 40 bodies and witnesses said there were multiple attacks.
Footage from the aftermath showed charred tents, burnt-out cars and belongings strewn across charred earth as emergency workers and Palestinians displaced by the nine-month war searched for survivors, some using carpets to carry bodies through the smoke and wreckage.
Witnesses said the airstrikes took place inside Muwasi, an Israeli-designated safe zone that stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Yunis, a coastal area where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled for safety, mainly hiding in makeshift tents.
“This was a designated safe zone, full of people from the north,” said a displaced Palestinian man, who asked not to give his name. “Children were killed and we had to collect parts of their bodies.”
Israeli officials said the attack took place inside the fenced-off area of Hamas-controlled Khan Yunis, but did not specify the exact location.
The latest deadly attack came as mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar continue to try to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas over a proposed agreement on a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza and a plan to release hostages.
Mohammed Deif has been in hiding for more than 20 years and is believed to be paralyzed after surviving multiple assassination attempts. One of the only known images of the man is a 30-year-old ID photo released by Israel, and only a handful of people in Gaza recognise him.
The US-backed proposal calls for an initial ceasefire accompanied by a limited hostage release and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, while the two sides negotiate the terms of a second phase, which would bring about the full release of hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel has launched an operation in Gaza. Hamas’ October 7 attack Militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.
Since then, Israeli ground attacks and bombings have killed more than 38,300 people and injured more than 88,000, according to Gaza Strip officials. Ministry of Public HealthThe ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. More than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes, with most now confined to squalid tent camps and facing widespread hunger.
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Associated Press reporters Mohamed Jajoo in Khan Younis, Gaza, Jack Jeffrey in Ramallah, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Abby Sewell and Bassem Mrouh in Beirut contributed to this report.
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