Netanyahu: There is no certainty whether Hamas military chief was killed in attack on Gaza that left 90 dead – Firstpost

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday his government had “no certainty” that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in an attack that officials said killed dozens of people in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

“Israel attacked Gaza today to eliminate Mohammed Deif and his deputy Rafa Salama,” Netanyahu said at a press conference hours after the attack on Al-Mawasi, a designated security zone in southern Gaza that provides shelter to displaced Palestinians.

“There is no certainty that the two have been eliminated,” he added.

According to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled area, 90 people were killed and 300 injured in the attack on Al-Mawasi near the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Israel had declared the area a security zone and called on civilians in other areas of Gaza to move there for safety reasons.

Netanyahu described Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, as the “planner and leader” of the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring back all hostages from Gaza.

“The elimination of Hamas leaders brings us closer to achieving all our goals,” said the right-wing prime minister, who is facing growing opposition to the war.

“In recent weeks we have seen clear cracks within Hamas,” he added.

“Today’s operation also contributes to this, regardless of its outcome.”

The deaths in Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated “safe zone” where aid groups say hundreds of thousands of people sought shelter, were condemned by regional governments including Jordan, Iran and Egypt.

The Cairo Foreign Ministry stated that such “crimes … cannot be accepted under any justification whatsoever.”