• Lone operational hospital overwhelmed by wounded, faces acute shortage of medical supplies
• Hamas terms Israel’s claim of targeting its military chief false

CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike killed at least 71 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza on Saturday, the enclave’s health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

It was unclear whether Deif was killed. “We are still checking and verifying the results of the strike,” an Israeli military official told reporters.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli claims it had targeted leaders of the group were false and aimed at justifying the attack, which was the deadliest Israeli attack in Gaza in weeks.

Displaced people sheltering in the area said their tents were torn down by the force of the strike, describing bodies and body parts strewn on the ground.

“I couldn’t even tell where I was or what was happening,” said Sheikh Youssef, a resident of Gaza City who is 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.

The Israeli military said also targeted Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, describing them as two of the masterminds of the Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the nine-month war in Gaza.

Deif has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021 and 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 said at least 71 Palestinians were killed in the strike and 289 injured, the deadliest toll in weeks in the conflict-shattered enclave.

Al-Mawasi is a designated humanitarian area that the Israeli army has repeatedly urged Palestinians to head to after issuing evacuation orders from other areas.

Ambulances raced towards the area amidst clouds of smoke and dust. Displaced people, including women and children, were fleeing in panic, some holding belongings in their hands.

Hospital ‘full of patients’

Many of those wounded in the strike, including women and children, were taken to the nearby Nasser Hospital, which hospital officials said had been overwhelmed and 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,” said Atef al-Hout, director of the hospital, adding that it was the only one still operating in southern Gaza.

Separately on Saturday, at least 19 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a prayer hall at a Gaza camp for displaced people in west Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said.

The Hamas-run media office said at least 100 people were killed and wounded in the Khan Younis attack, including members of the Civil Emergency Service.

A senior Hamas official did not confirm whether Deif had been present and called the Israeli allegations “nonsense”.

“All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a grave escalation of the war of genocide, backed by the American support and world silence,” Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, adding the strike showed Israel was not interested in reaching a ceasefire deal.

Critics have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, which Israel denies. It characterises its actions as self-defence to prevent another attack like Oct 7, though the International Court of Justice ordered Israel in January to take action to prevent acts of genocide.

Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians since Oct 7, 2023.

Witnesses said the Khan Younis attack came as a surprise as the area had been calm, adding more than one missile had been fired. Some of the wounded who were being evacuated were rescue workers, they 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,” said one tearful woman, who did not give her name.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2024