Gaza Genocideupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapIsraeli Airstrikes Hit Al Mawasi Near Khan Younis, Killing At Least 90
“The Israeli-designated ‘safe zone’ was little more than a sea of tents on the beach, so people were buried in the sand instead.”
“Israeli officials said the attack had been a ‘precision’ strike targeting top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif and his deputy Rafa Salama.”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Israeli airstrikes on al-Mawasi near Khan Younis killed at least 90 Palestinians and injured 300. Strike targeted Hamas's military commander area in southern Gaza, killing at least 90 people.
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Al-Mawasi strike toll dispute
Israeli forces carried out deadly airstrikes on Gaza’s Al Mawasi area near Khan Younis, and the UN health agency said the strikes reportedly left at least 90 dead and around 300 injured, according to figures from the enclave’s health ministry. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said via his Spokesperson late on Saturday that he was “shocked and saddened by the loss of lives”.
Israeli officials said the attack had been a “precision” strike targeting top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif and his deputy Rafa Salama, and the strike took place close to Khan Younis in an area reportedly designated by the Israeli military as a safe zone for civilians. The PBS account said Israel targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander in a massive strike that killed at least 90 people including children, while Hamas rejected the claim that Deif was in the area and called it “false claims” that were a “cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre.”
Hospitals overwhelmed, safe zone
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that 134 “severely injured people” had been admitted to the nearby Nasser Medical Complex, which he said was “extremely overwhelmed by the influx”. Stéphane Dujarric told UN News that reports indicated the attack had taken place in a densely populated area “designated as a humanitarian zone sheltering displaced people,” and he stressed that “This underscores that nowhere is safe in Gaza”.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum described the aftermath as “a new massacre committed by the Israeli military,” and he said the area was hit by “five bombs and five missiles”. Hamas said the al-Mawasi massacre was committed against an area crowded with “more than 80,000 displaced people,” and it accused Israel of continuing a war of extermination by repeatedly and systematically targeting displaced civilians in tents, shelters and residential neighbourhoods.
Ceasefire pressure and next steps
The UN Secretary-General underlined once again that there must be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with all hostages released “immediately and unconditionally.” The UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said it was clear that using bombs in close proximity to thousands of displaced people “has led to disproportionate harm to civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure”.
In parallel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “there still isn't absolute certainty” that Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama were killed, and he said Israel will not end the war until Hamas’ military capabilities are destroyed. The Times of Israel reported that Deif’s fate was unknown as of 8 p.m., while defense sources said there was a growing likelihood he had been killed, and the IDF said no hostages were held at the site when the strike was carried out.