Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by the extremist group, says the attack left 71 dead and nearly 300 injured.
The Israel Defense Forces launched an attack on southern Gaza this Saturday (13.Jul.2024) with the aim of hitting “two senior Hamas terrorists and other terrorists hid among civilians”. According to the The New York Timesone of the targets was Muhammed Deif, military leader of Hamas and the 2nd most important member of the extremist group.
Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said the attack on Khan Yunis province in the Mawasi region left at least 71 people dead and 289 injured, including serious cases. It said medical teams were still working at the scene.
The Israel Defense Forces said the site of the attack was an open area surrounded by trees, buildings and warehouses. On social media, they posted a before and after image of the attack to show that it was not a civilian area.
Muhammed Deif was one of the masterminds behind the attack on Israel in October 2023, which caused more than 1,200 deaths and led to the escalation of the war in the Middle East.
In addition to Deif, the Israeli raid this Saturday (13 July) also targeted Rafah Salameh, the group’s main commander in Khan Younis.
Israel has not said whether the Hamas members were killed. On social media, supporters of the Jewish nation celebrated the alleged “elimination” of the commanders.
Hamas denied that the attack targeted military personnel. It said the dozens of people killed were civilians.
“The occupation’s claims about targeting leaders are false. This is not the first time the occupation has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, and this was later proven to be a lie. These false claims are just a cover-up of the scale of the horrific massacre.”Hamas said in a statement.
The extremist group says that the area attacked is populated by around 80,000 Palestinians, and that Israel was aware of the characteristics of the region because it monitored it with drones.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific massacre that took place in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, which represents a dangerous escalation in the series of crimes and massacres unprecedented in the history of wars committed in the Gaza Strip at the hands of neo-Nazis.”Hamas declared.
#Israel #targets #Hamas #strikes #southern #Gaza #dozens #killed