At least 71 Palestinians have been killed and over 289 injured following an Israeli air strike in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, Gaza’s health ministry reported.
The health ministry stated that the targeted area had been designated as a humanitarian zone by the Israeli military.
The Israeli military claimed the strike aimed at senior Hamas leaders.
An Israeli official informed foreign reporters that the operation’s objective was to eliminate Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, in what was described as an “open area” solely inhabited by Hamas militants.
The strike also targeted Rafa Salama, the Hamas commander for Khan Younis. The official emphasized the intelligence guiding the strike was “accurate.”
However, Hamas, in a statement cited by Reuters, refuted the claims that their leaders were targeted, calling them “false.” The statement noted previous instances where Israel’s claims of targeting Palestinian leaders were later disproven.
An eyewitness described the aftermath of the strike to the BBC as resembling an “earthquake,” with smouldering debris and injured individuals amidst the wreckage.
BBC footage showed scenes of “smouldering wreckage and bloodied casualties being loaded onto stretchers. People can be seen desperately picking through the rubble of a large crater with their hands.”
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