Death toll in Israeli attack on Khan Younis rises to 90: health officials

The Gaza Strip Health Ministry confirmed that at least 90 people were killed and 300 others injured, some seriously.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it acted on “accurate intelligence” and attacked an area where “two senior Hamas terrorists” and other fighters were hiding among civilians. The site of the attack was described as “an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings and sheds.”

In a subsequent press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two Hamas officials attacked were the group’s military chief, Mohammed Deif, and senior Hamas commander Rafa Salama, adding that it was not immediately clear whether either of them was killed.

“One way or another, we will reach the entire Hamas leadership,” the Israeli president noted.

Hamas has said Deif and Salama were not killed in the attack and called the premise of the Israeli attack “false,” adding that it was not the first time the Israeli military had made such claims that were later proven false.

“The al-Mawasi massacre in Khan Younis was carried out in an area where more than 80,000 displaced people are located. This is a clear and unequivocal confirmation by the Zionist government that it will continue its war of extermination against our Palestinian people by repeatedly and systematically attacking the defenseless displaced civilians in tents, makeshift shelters and residential areas,” Hamas said in a statement.

Last month, Israeli forces killed at least 274 Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza during an operation to free four Israeli prisoners.

The Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry announced on Saturday that at least 38,443 Palestinians had been killed and 88,481 people injured in Israel’s war against the besieged enclave.