Israel targets 7 October mastermind in airstrike Gaza officials say killed at least 90

13 July 2024, 09:27 | Updated: 13 July 2024, 20:24

An Israeli airstrike has targeted the mastermind behind the 7 October attack in an attack the Hamas-run health ministry said killed at least 90 people.

The authorities in the besieged enclave have said at least 300 people were injured in the attack on the southern city of Khan Younis, which it is claimed hit tents occupied by refugees fleeing the conflict.

The local hospital has said it is overwhelmed and "no longer able to function" due to the large number of casualties.

It was unclear whether Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif was killed, along with another senior militant leader Rafa Salama, who was also targeted.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was still not clear whether Deif and his deputy were killed in the strike.

In a news conference, he vowed to pursue Israel's war aims to the end. "Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas," he said.

Israeli army radio said Deif was hiding in a building in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone al Mawasi that stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis, where many civilians have sought sanctuary from the fighting.

But Hamas's deputy leader Khalil al Hayya claimed Deif was not killed in the strike.

"We say to Netanyahu that Mohammed Deif is listening to you right now and mocking your lies," he told Al Jazeera TV.

In a statement about Israel's claims earlier, the group said: "These false claims are merely a cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre."

It described the strike as "a grave escalation" and evidence Israel was not interested in a ceasefire, as mediators push for a deal in Doha.

Deif was the secretive commander behind Hamas's surprise attack on Israel last October, which triggered the devastating war in Gaza.

Rising up the Hamas ranks over 30 years, he developed the group's network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise and is held responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

He has previously survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021 and has topped the most wanted list for decades.

Footage taken in the aftermath of Saturday's airstrike showed ambulances racing to the scene amid clouds of smoke, dust and charred debris as people ran in panic.

Victims were taken away on the bonnets of cars, on donkey carts and carpets used as makeshift stretchers.

Witnesses said the attack was a surprise as the area had been calm.

One woman in tears said: "They're all gone, my whole family's gone.. where are my brothers? They're all gone, they're all gone. There's no one left.

"Our children are in pieces, they are in pieces. Shame (on you)."

Hamas insurgents stormed into southern Israel on 7 October and killed some 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and abducted about 250 hostages.

Read more:
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Israel retaliated by launching an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 38,300 people in the besieged enclave, according to the territory's health ministry.

It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million population have sought safety in tent camps in central and southern Gaza.

Israeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of law and order have hampered humanitarian aid efforts, causing widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.

The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to take steps to protect Palestinians as it examines genocide allegations against Israeli leaders. Israel denies the charge.

(c) Sky News 2024: Israel targets 7 October mastermind in airstrike Gaza officials say killed at least 90