71 killed, 289 injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza

TEL AVIV: 71 Palestinians were killed and 289 people were injured in an attack carried out by Israel in Gaza targeting Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif. The attack took place in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in south Gaza today morning.

Israel said that it carried out the airstrike after learning that Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was living in hiding in the area. Deif was seriously injured in the attack. Rafa Salameh, commander of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade, was killed in the attack.

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

Deif is one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attack that triggered the nin-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.