14-7-204 (GAZA) An Israeli airstrike on a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza claimed the lives of at least 90 Palestinians on Saturday, July 13th, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The strike, which Israel claimed targeted Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, has left the region reeling and heightened tensions in the already volatile conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation, acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding whether Deif and another Hamas commander had been killed in the strike. However, he vowed to continue targeting the Hamas leadership, asserting that increased military pressure on the group would improve the chances of securing a hostage deal, even as sources indicated that talks had been halted.
It appears there’s nothing left but dust of Mohammed Deif, the top military commander of HMS — the #2 man in Gaza.
Israel targeted him and 70 of his men, according to reports. None appear to have survived.
While official confirmation of the success of the operation is pending,… pic.twitter.com/4QHYLbk92x
— Marina Medvin ???????? (@MarinaMedvin) July 13, 2024
“Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas,” Netanyahu declared during a news conference, resolute in his determination to pursue Israel’s war aims to the bitter end.
The militant Islamist group Hamas swiftly denied reports of Deif’s death, with a senior Hamas official refuting the claims on Al Jazeera TV. Earlier, Hamas had accused Israel of falsely claiming to have targeted the group’s leaders as a means to justify the deadly attack, which has become the deadliest Israeli strike in Gaza in weeks.
Eyewitness accounts from displaced individuals sheltering in the area painted a harrowing picture of the aftermath. Tents were torn down by the force of the strike, leaving bodies and dismembered body parts strewn across the ground.
“I couldn’t even tell where I was or what was happening,” recounted Sheikh Youssef, a resident of Gaza City currently displaced in the Al-Mawasi area. “I left the tent and looked around, all the tents were knocked down, body parts, bodies everywhere, elderly women thrown on the floor, young children in pieces,” he told Reuters, his voice trembling with the weight of the trauma.
The Israeli military defended the strike, asserting that it targeted not only Deif but also Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade. The officials described the two men as the masterminds behind the October 7th attack on southern Israel, which had triggered the nine-month war in Gaza.
Deif, a long-standing target for Israeli forces, has survived seven previous assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021. He has topped Israel’s most-wanted list for decades, held responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
The Gaza health ministry reported a staggering toll, with at least 91 Palestinians killed and 300 injured in the strike – the deadliest incident in weeks within the conflict-shattered enclave. Al-Mawasi, the site of the attack, is a designated humanitarian area where the Israeli army had repeatedly urged Palestinians to seek shelter after issuing evacuation orders from other regions.
Reuters footage captured the chaos that ensued, with ambulances racing towards the area amidst clouds of smoke and dust. Displaced individuals, including women and children, fled in panic, clutching their belongings as they sought safety.
The Israeli military released an aerial photograph of the site, which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, claiming that “terrorists hid among civilians.” In a statement, the military asserted that “the location of the strike was an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings, and sheds.”
The aftermath of the strike overwhelmed the nearby Nasser Hospital, with hospital officials stating that it was “no longer able to function” due to the intensity of the Israeli offensive and an acute shortage of medical supplies.
“The hospital is full of patients, it’s full of wounded, we can’t find beds for people,” lamented Atef al-Hout, the hospital’s director, adding that it was the only facility still operating in southern Gaza.
As Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant convened special consultations in light of the developments in Gaza, Egyptian security sources revealed that ceasefire talks underway in Doha and Cairo had been halted after three days of intense negotiations. The sources cited the behavior of Israeli mediators as revealing “internal discord.”
Hamas, meanwhile, informed Al Jazeera that it was awaiting a response from mediators on proposals introduced to Israel.
Netanyahu, in his televised remarks on Saturday evening, insisted that he had not deviated from the framework presented by U.S. President Joe Biden. The White House National Security Council issued a statement, confirming that Israel had informed the United States of its intention to target senior Hamas officials and expressing that the Biden administration was in touch with Israeli officials to learn more about the reported civilian casualties.
As the prime minister spoke, protesters continued to rally in Tel Aviv, singing songs and waving signs calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Thousands of others marched outside Jerusalem earlier in the day, their voices echoing the collective anguish of families torn apart by the conflict.
“Maybe it’s good, maybe it’s not good. I don’t know about Mohammed Deif, I know that keeping the war is bad for all of us,” said Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of an Israeli hostage, as she took part in the hostage solidarity march near Jerusalem. “We need to bring the hostages back,” she implored, her words carrying the weight of a nation’s shared burden. “If Netanyahu killed Mohammed Deif, then he has his picture of victory, so bring them back now.”
In a separate incident on Saturday, at least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a prayer hall at a Gaza camp for displaced people in west Gaza City, according to Palestinian health and civil emergency officials.
The ongoing conflict has drawn fierce criticism, with some accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians – a claim vehemently denied by Israel, which characterizes its actions as self-defense to prevent another attack like the one on October 7th. The International Court of Justice, however, ordered Israel in January to take action to prevent acts of genocide.
According to Israeli tallies, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in the cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7th. In retaliation, Israel’s military action in Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to medical authorities in the enclave.
