An Israeli strike on the military leader of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Deif, has apparently failed. Deif was not killed in the attack on Khan Yunis on Saturday, Hamas deputy chief Khalil al-Hayya told Al Jazeera television.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously expressed doubts about the killing. “There is no absolute certainty yet,” he said at a news conference in Tel Aviv. Hamas said more than 100 people were killed in the airstrike on tent shelters.
The Israeli military had earlier said it was still investigating whether Deif and Rafa Salama, the commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade, were killed in the airstrike west of the city of the same name. Hours earlier, the Israeli military bombed a fenced facility in the humanitarian zone between Khan Yunis and Al-Mawasi, which Israel says served as a base for Hamas terrorists.
Attack in a “humanitarian zone”?
According to the Health Ministry, the attack took place in a “humanitarian zone” designated safe by Israel in the Al-Mawasi refugee camp in western Khan Yunis. Many of the wounded were in critical condition, medical sources said. Tents of displaced people were also hit.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, there were several violent attacks in the area in the morning. Staff at the nearby Nasser Hospital reported that after the attacks there were no longer enough beds to accommodate the large number of wounded.
One of Israel’s objectives in the Gaza war is to capture or kill Deif and the Hamas leader in the coastal area, Yahya Sinwar. They are considered the organization’s two most important leaders inside the Gaza Strip. In March, the army reported the killing of the third-highest Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Marwan Issa.
Army: “Several terrorists eliminated”
The Israeli military said on Saturday it was continuing its operations in the city of Gaza, in the northern Gaza Strip. “In cooperation with the air force, the soldiers eliminated several terrorists yesterday,” the army said on Saturday.
In the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, “numerous tunnel entrances” were destroyed and Hamas fighters were also killed. The air force also targeted a warehouse where paragliders used in Hamas’s major attack on Israel on October 7 were stored.
An AFP correspondent reported artillery fire in southeastern Gaza and in the city center on Saturday. The Tel al-Hawa district was reportedly targeted by drones. At least 10 Palestinians are believed to have been killed near Gaza City in an Israeli strike that hit prayer halls in a camp for displaced people, the health sector said.
Witnesses reported Friday that Israeli troops were withdrawing from some Gaza neighborhoods. Civil defense in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said about 60 bodies were found there after a two-week Israeli offensive. The Israeli military said it had killed “more than 150 terrorists.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
