The Israeli army has killed at least 71 people and wounded 289 on Saturday when it bombed the Al Mawasi emergency zone in southern Gaza, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Strip, where Hamas rules. The authorities of the Hebrew State claim that the target was Mohamed Deif, 58 years old military chief of Hamas in Gaza, although the group denies this and it has not been confirmed that he was killed or wounded. “This is not the first time that the occupation forces have claimed to have attacked Palestinian leaders and it has later been proven that it was a lie. These false reports are simply to cover up the horrible magnitude of the massacre,” Hamas responded through a statement in which it emphasizes that the victims are “innocent and defenseless civilians.”
Saturday’s attack is one of the worst attacks against civilians in the war and it also took place in an area designated by the Israeli authorities as safe for the population, although Gazans themselves and humanitarian organisations working on the ground deny the alleged safety. They say that there is no place in the Palestinian enclave that escapes attacks by the occupation troops. The number of deaths in Gaza during the current armed conflict has already exceeded 38,400.
“The massacre of al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis represents the continuation of the Nazi genocide against our people and we consider the American administration to be a direct collaborator in this crime,” the Hamas statement added. The Israeli prime minister followed the operation overnight, according to a statement from his office, which also noted that he has authorized his forces to carry out attacks in which the targets are Hamas’s responsibility.









It was 10.30am when “Israeli fighter jets launched several massive bombing raids,” according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. “Local health authorities warn that hospitals are unable to cope with the large number of victims, aggravated by the destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure by (the attacks of) the Israeli occupation forces,” it added.
Knowing what’s happening outside means understanding what’s going to happen inside, so don’t miss anything.
KEEP READING
Mohammed al-Mughair, a member of the emergency services, said that Israel targeted even those who were going to help the victims, according to statements made to Qatari channel Al Jazeera. “As we were moving to the scene of the incident, we were attacked. Two vehicles were directly attacked and this resulted in the death of two of our colleagues. Six other people were injured, three of them seriously,” he said. In some videos, it can be seen that as some of the victims of the attack were being removed, another shell landed nearby.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to move towards Al Mawasi, on the beach line between Khan Yunis and Rafah, in recent months in forced population movements that international law considers illegal. This is a camp area where humanitarian organisations claim that the minimum conditions for living are not met, especially when it comes to tens of thousands of people displaced several times during the conflict.
The first images of Saturday’s attack on social media show citizens in the middle of a scene devastated by the explosions, collecting some bodies. The Red Crescent has reported that more than 100 wounded people have been taken to Al Amal hospital and the Al Quds (Jerusalem, in Arabic) field hospital.
Mohamed Deif, the target Israel claims to be seeking with this bombing, is an elusive leader, of whom few images are known and who has already survived several assassination attempts. Together with Yahia Sinwar, the political brain of the group in the Strip, they are considered by Israel to be the masterminds of the massacre of some 1,200 people in Israeli territory on October 7.
On that date, Deif called on Palestinians to unite. “Today the rage of our people and our nation is exploding. Our mujahideen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time is up,” the Hamas chief said in a recording, according to Al Jazeera.
That attack, the worst of its kind suffered by Israel in its 76-year history, was the trigger for the current conflict. Israel has killed mid-level Hamas commanders since October, but has not killed or captured any members of the Palestinian fundamentalist group’s leadership.

Israel has continued its attacks in parallel to the negotiations that have been taking place for days in both Qatar and Egypt. The aim is to try to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would also allow the release of the more than 100 hostages who have been held since October 7. Last month, the occupation troops killed more than 270 Gazans during the rescue operation of four of these captives.
Israeli security forces are on alert for possible clashes or attacks in the occupied West Bank against occupation troops or against the more than half a million Jewish settlers in reaction to the bombing of Al Mawasi, according to local media.
The attack on this camp was not the only Israeli bombing of Gaza in recent hours. At least 17 people were killed in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City while they were taking part in a prayer, the Wafa agency reported.
Follow all the international information at Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.