Israel says targeted Hamas military chief in Gaza strike that killed dozens

At least 90 people were killed and 300 others injured in the strike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Palestinians gather near damage, following what Palestinians say was an Israeli strike at a tent camp in Al-Mawasi area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Reuters)

Israeli military confirmed that Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, was the target of its strike on Saturday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, that left at least 90 people dead and 300 others injured.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said Rafa Salama, another top Hamas official, was also targeted in the strike, AP reported.

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

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Following the strike, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will hold security talks throughout the day.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, many of the injured and dead were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital.

Israeli Army Radio, earlier in the day, had said that it was unclear whether Deif was killed in the strike.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducted about 250.

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Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 38,300 people in Gaza and wounded more than 88,000, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

With agency inputs

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