Israel said it targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commanderin a massive strike Saturday in the crowded southern Gaza Strip thatkilled at least 71 people, according to local health officials. Hamasimmediately rejected the claim that Mohammed Deif was in the area.
By Mohamed Jahjouh and Josef Federman, Associated PressPalestinians evacuate a body from a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 13, 2024. Israel said it targeted Hamas' shadowy military commander in a massive strike Saturday in the crowded southern Gaza Strip that killed at least 71 people, according to local health officials. Hamas immediately rejected the claim that Mohammed Deif was targeted.
Deif and Hamas’ top official in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, are believed by Israel to be the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Not seen in public for years, Deif has long topped Israel’s most-wanted list and is believed to have escaped multiple Israeli assassination attempts. On Oct. 7, Hamas issued a rare voice recording of Deif announcing the “Al Aqsa Flood” operation.
In a statement, Hamas denied that Deif had been in the area. “These false claims are merely a cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre,” it said. 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 in search of safety, sheltering mostly in sweltering, makeshift tents and with little services.
At the hospital, a baby in a pink shirt, her face covered with sand, cried while receiving first aid. A small boy lay motionless at the other end of the bed, one shoe gone. Victims lay amid spattered blood on the floor, and bodies were wrapped in white plastic scrawled in marker with their names. The U.S.-backed proposal calls for an initial cease-fire with a limited hostage release and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas in Gaza. At the same time, the two sides will negotiate terms of the second phase, which is supposed to bring a full hostage release in return for a permanent cease-fire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
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