Hamas claims more than 70 people were killed in IDF attack on military commander Mohammed Deif

This is a rush article and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Israeli forces attacked a position in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone on Saturday and attempted to kill Hamas’ top military commander, Mohammed Deif.

Israel has tried to take out Deif seven times over the years, the most recent attempt being in 2021.

Deif, who has been at the top of Israel’s wanted list for decades for his role in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks against Israelis, was one of the main planners of the October 7 Hamas invasion.

Shortly after the attack, the IDF issued a statement that did not mention Deif.

According to the statement, the Israel Defense Forces and the domestic intelligence service ISA (Shin Bet) carried out an attack “in an area where two high-ranking Hamas terrorists and other terrorists were hiding among civilians” in a joint operation “based on precise intelligence information”.

The IDF described the site of the attack as “an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings and sheds.”

After the attack, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claimed that 70 people were killed in the attack.

Although Al-Mawasi is designated as a humanitarian zone by Israel, the Israeli army released images shortly after the attack showing that the attacked building was located in a fenced Hamas compound and not in a tent camp for displaced Palestinians. The Israeli army estimates that several dozen Hamas activists were near the compound at the time of the attack.

The Israeli military believes that Rafa’a Salameh, commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, was near Deif at the time of the attack.

Images posted on social media after the operation showed destroyed tents and the bodies of several civilians, including women and children.

It is unclear how many of them were civilians, but Israeli forces believe many of the dead were likely Hamas fighters.

An IDF official said the military had not confirmed whether Deif was killed.

“We are still reviewing and verifying the results of the attack,” he told Reuters.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhr told Reuters: “All the martyrs are civilians, and what happened was a serious escalation of the genocidal war, supported by American support and the silence of the world.”

He claimed the attack was proof that Israel did not want a ceasefire agreement.