Hamas says military chief Deif ‘fine’ after Israeli strike
GAZA STRIP—A top Hamas official said on Sunday that the group’s military leader Mohammed Deif is “fine” despite an Israeli attempt to kill him in an air strike.
“Commander Mohammed Deif is well and directly overseeing” the operations of the Hamas military wing, the official told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Israel staged a huge bombing raid on a camp for displaced in southern Gaza on Saturday that it said was an attempt to kill Deif.
Gaza officials say 90 Palestinians were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said it remained unclear whether Deif and another Hamas commander had been killed and promised to continue to target Hamas leadership, saying more military pressure on the group would improve chances of a hostage deal, even as three days of ceasefire talks separately halted on Saturday.
Hamas had said Israeli claims it had targeted leaders of the group were false and aimed at justifying the attack, which was the deadliest Israeli attack in Gaza in weeks.
Displaced people sheltering in the area said their tents were torn down by the force of the strike, describing bodies and body parts strewn on the ground.
“I couldn’t even tell where I was or what was happening,” said Sheikh Youssef, a resident of Gaza City who is currently displaced in the Al-Mawasi area.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, in a statement, said he was “shocked and saddened” by the civilian deaths, which underscored “nowhere is safe in Gaza,” and said international humanitarian law must be upheld.
The Israeli military said the strike against Deif also targeted Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, describing them as two of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the nine-month war in Gaza.
Multiple attempts
Deif has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021, and has topped Israel’s most wanted list for decades, held responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry said at least 91 Palestinians were killed in the strike and 300 injured, the deadliest toll in weeks in the conflict-shattered enclave.
Al-Mawasi is a designated humanitarian area that the Israeli army has repeatedly urged Palestinians to head to after issuing evacuation orders from other areas.
Reuters footage showed ambulances racing towards the area amidst clouds of smoke and dust. Displaced people, including women and children, were fleeing in panic, some holding belongings in their hands.
The Israeli military published an aerial photo of the site, which Reuters was not immediately able to verify, where it said “terrorists hid among civilians.”
“The location of the strike was an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings and sheds,” it said in a statement.
The Israeli military official said the area was an operational compound run by Hamas and militants were there guarding Deif.
