At least 71 Palestinians have been reported dead following an Israeli strike on a displacement camp in southern Gaza, which Israel claimed was aimed at Hamas’ military chief, believed to be behind the October 7 attacks.
Footage from Al-Mawasi, designated as a safe zone for those fleeing the conflict, reveals bodies in the streets and destroyed tents. “I cannot describe to you the magnitude of the tragedy,” one resident told CNN.
The intended target, according to an Israeli security official, was Mohammed Deif, leader of Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing.
The Israeli military is still verifying if Deif was killed, alongside the head of the Khan Younis brigade, Rafe Salama.
The strike caused extensive devastation, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting at least 71 fatalities and nearly 300 injuries. Locals and rescue teams were seen trying to rescue those trapped under debris.
Hospitals like Kuwait and Nasser are overwhelmed by the influx of casualties, the ministry reported.
A young boy named Hammoud recounted to a CNN stringer, “I was sitting in the bathroom, and before I heard explosions from the strike, the bathroom flew off. Then, the whole area became filled with smoke, and then the shells began to fall.” His younger brother was killed, and his sister is hospitalized.
Aida Hamdi, another resident, said, “We suddenly heard missiles hitting. I was baking bread, I took my daughter and we started running outside. I threw all the dough away, it was mixed with sand. We heard three hits, people around me were martyred, women, men, and children.”
Hamas refuted Israeli claims of targeting Deif and Salama, labeling the incident a “horrific massacre.”
Their statement read, “The occupation’s claims of targeting leaders are false claims, and this is not the first time the occupation has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, only for its lies to be exposed later.”
An Israeli official stated that intelligence about a chance to strike Hamas’s top military commander was received in recent days, but the clear opportunity emerged only in the last 24 hours.
Discussions among Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and top Shin Bet officials assessed the strike’s viability before it was authorized.
They ensured there were no hostages in the area and considered the impact on ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
Little is known about Deif. Born in the 1960s, Deif, a bomb maker, orchestrated suicide attacks in 1996 that killed 65 people in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
His real name is Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, but he is known as El Deif (the Guest) due to his habit of staying in different houses nightly to evade Israeli tracking.
Deif has survived previous Israeli assassination attempts, including one in 2014 that killed his wife, seven-month-old son, and three-year-old daughter.
In May, the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for Deif and other senior Hamas figures, citing “reasonable grounds” for their responsibility in the October 7 attacks, which resulted in around 1,200 Israeli deaths.
Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza, aimed at dismantling Hamas and rescuing hostages, has resulted in more than 38,000 deaths.
