According to Israeli army radio, Hamas military chief was the target of an attack on Gaza

CAIRO (Reuters) – Israel’s army radio station reported on Saturday that its military had targeted the Hamas military chief in an attack on Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. The enclave’s health ministry said at least 20 Palestinians were killed in the attack.

According to Army Radio, it is unclear whether Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the report.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement that Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis had received 20 bodies and 90 injured. The statement did not give the final number of victims, who were transferred to other medical facilities.

The Hamas-run media office said at least 100 people were killed or injured, including members of the Civil Emergency Services.

A senior Hamas official did not confirm whether Deif was present.

“The Israeli accusations are nonsense and aim to justify the cruel massacre. All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a serious escalation of the genocidal war, backed by American support and the silence of the world,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

According to Israeli sources, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7.

Israel responded with a military operation in the Gaza Strip in which, according to Gaza health authorities, more than 38,000 Palestinians were killed.

(Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi; Editing by Mark Potter and Sharon Singleton)