According to official reports, 71 people are dead and hundreds injured in attack on refugee camp in Gaza Strip

Palestinian medics reported that at least 71 people were killed and hundreds injured in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas-controlled health authorities in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday that at least 289 people were injured in the attack on the Al-Mawasi camp when tents for displaced people were hit, many of them seriously.

Israeli media reported that the target of the attack was Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza. It is unclear whether Deif was hit, and the Israeli army has not commented.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the airstrike was being investigated, adding that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had conducted an assessment of the operational situation together with military and intelligence chiefs “in light of developments in the Gaza Strip.”

One of Israel’s central goals in the current conflict is the capture or killing of Deif and the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehya al-Sinwar. The third-highest ranking Hamas leader in Gaza, Marwan Issa, was reportedly killed in March.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, several serious attacks took place in Gaza on Saturday morning. Staff at Nasser Hospital reported a lack of beds to accommodate the numerous injured.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that operations would continue throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Gaza City. In the southern city of Rafah, Israeli forces destroyed numerous tunnels and killed several Hamas members on Friday.