Israeli strike targeting Hamas commanders leaves more than 70 dead
Local authorities said that 71 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a humanitarian area targeting senior leaders of Hamas. According to the statement of the Ministry of Health, more than 289 people were injured.
The attack reportedly took place in Al-Mawazi area near Khan Yunis, which the Israeli army has designated as a humanitarian zone, forcing Palestinians to take shelter there.
“This is not the first time that Israel has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, only to be proven false,” the organization said in a statement.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Raya, of a hospital dealing with the aftermath of the attack, said the majority of patients who arrived were dead, while others were suffering from various lacerations. Most of the dead were civilians, especially women and children, he said.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south of the central Gaza Strip amid intensified operations in the north. Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, is a key target of the Israeli military.
He is believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas attack, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners – mostly civilians – and took another 251 hostages in Gaza. It led to a major Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 38,400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
