Israeli strike targeting Hamas military commander kills 90 in Gaza ‘safe’ zone

Jerusalem, July 13

Israel said it targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander, Mohammed Deif, in a massive strike in the southern Gaza Strip that killed at least 90 people, according to local health officials.

Witnesses said the strike landed inside Muwasi, the Israeli designated safe zone that stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis. The coastal strip is where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled to in search of safety, sheltering mostly in makeshift tents.

It was not immediately known whether Mohammed Deif was among the dead. However, Israeli officials confirmed that he and a second Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, were the targets. Hamas immediately rejected the claim.

Deif is believed by many to be the chief architect of the October 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. He has topped Israel’s most-wanted list for years and is believed to have escaped multiple Israeli assassination attempts in the past.

His potential killing threatens to derail ceasefire talks and would be seen as a major Israeli victory in the nine-month campaign. “These false claims are merely a cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre,” Hamas said in a statement in response to Israel.

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 289 others were injured in the attack and that many of the injured and dead were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital. At the hospital, Associated Press journalists counted over 40 bodies and witnesses there described an attack that included several strikes.

The Israeli military asserted that “additional terrorists hid among civilians” and described the strike location as an area surrounded by trees, several buildings and sheds.

Footage of the aftermath showed charred tents, burnt-out cars and household belongings scattered across the blackened earth as emergency workers and Palestinians displaced by the nine-month war searched for survivors. Victims were carried on the hoods and in the hatchbacks of cars, and on donkey carts and carpets. “Children were all martyred here. We collected their pieces with our hands,” a Palestinian man said. He estimated there were seven or eight missiles and that first responders were targeted as well.

According to an Israeli official, the strike was carried out within a fenced area of Khan Younis that was run by Hamas, but did not elaborate on the precise location.

The latest deadly strike comes as US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators continue to push to narrow gaps between Israel and Hamas over a proposed deal for a three-phase cease-fire and hostage release plan in Gaza.

Mohammed Deif has been in hiding for more than two decades and is believed to be paralysed 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 even in Gaza, only a handful of people would recognise him. — AP

False claim: Hamas

• Israel’s claim that it was targeting Hamas leaders in an airstrike in Gaza on Saturday was “false”, Hamas said
• “It’s not the first time Israel claims to target Palestinian leaders, only to be proven false later,” it added
• “These false claims are only to cover up the extent of the horrific massacre,” it said
• Hamas said “defenceless civilians” were killed in the attack on an area previously designated by Israel as “safe”