Palestinians collect close to the our bodies of their family members killed within the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, on Saturday.
Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
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Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
TEL AVIV — Highly effective Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded many extra Saturday in southern Gaza, officers mentioned. An Israeli navy official mentioned the goal was the top of the Hamas navy wing, Mohammed Deif. However there was no instant phrase on his standing.
The Israelis bombed town of Khan Younis and the close by space of al-Muwasi, which has been designated a humanitarian protected zone by the Israeli navy and the place 1000’s of displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Greater than 70 Palestinians have been killed within the bombings on the two places, lots of them civilians, based on witnesses and the Gaza Well being Ministry. Many extra have been wounded. This was the newest assault in a collection of ongoing Israeli air operations directed at Hamas, however which have additionally inflicted heavy civilian casualties.
Shortly after the strike, studies started circulating that the goal was Deif, a shadowy determine who has led the navy arm of Hamas for greater than twenty years and has survived a number of Israeli makes an attempt to kill him.
In a briefing, an Israeli navy official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned the assault focused Deif, in addition to one other senior Hamas commander, Rafah Salameh. The official added that the navy struck an “operational compound” that was surrounded by bushes, small buildings and shed, which offered cowl and made it troublesome to surveil.
The Israeli navy mentioned it was nonetheless assessing the strike and offered no info on Deif.
Hamas mentioned in a press release that Israel was making “false claims merely to cover up the extent of the horrific massacre.” The assertion didn’t point out Deif.
The 2 prime Hamas figures in Gaza are Yahya Sinwar, the group’s political chief within the territory, and Deif, who runs the navy wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel says these are the 2 Hamas leaders most chargeable for orchestrating the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 folks and took greater than 2OO hostages. That assault ignited the present struggle in Gaza during which greater than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, based on the Gaza Well being Ministry.
Shortly after the October assault, a Hamas TV channel launched a recording claiming to point out Deif. “Enough is enough,” the determine within the video mentioned. He appeared solely as a silhouette.
Whereas Sinwar appeared publicly earlier than Oct. 7, Deif has remained out of sight for many years. He was jailed by Israel for just a little over a 12 months in 1989-90, however was launched. He has run the Hamas navy wing since 2002, when his predecessor was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza Metropolis.
Again then, Deif was generally known as a grasp bomb-maker who offered the arsenal for Hamas’ suicide bombing marketing campaign. He is additionally credited for serving to develop the Hamas rockets, which might now attain all the way in which from Gaza to Tel Aviv.
Israel has tried to kill him many instances and he has reportedly suffered quite a few accidents, together with the lack of an eye fixed. His spouse and two of their young children have been killed in a 2014 airstrike meant for Deif in Gaza.
His nom de guerre “Deif” means “visitor” in Arabic, referring to the broadly held perception that he by no means stays in a single place for lengthy, all the time altering places in an try to remain a step forward of the Israelis.
