(13 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++CLIENTS: EDIT HAS GRAPHIC SHOTS OF INJURED PEOPLE INCLUDING CHILDREN++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – 13 July 2024
1. Various of injured baby, her face covered with sand, crying and receiving first aid
2. Various of injured boy lying on bed inside emergency department, receiving first aid
3. Various of injuries lying on the ground inside emergency department, doctors treat them
4. Various of injured civil defense member lying on the ground receiving treatment
5. Various of people gathering near bodies wrapped with white nylon on the ground
6. Various of bodies inside the morgue
7. Various of people carrying bodies and placing out of the morgue
8. Various of woman crying
9. Various of family mourning their relative who were killed in Israeli airstrike
10. Various of people gathering near bodies
11. Various of woman crying
STORYLINE:
Israel said it targeted Hamas’ shadowy military commander in a massive strike in the southern Gaza Strip that killed at least 71 people, according to local health officials.
It was not immediately known whether Mohammed Deif was among the dead. But Israeli officials confirmed that he and a second Hamas commander, Rafa Salama, were the targets.
Deif is believed by many to be the chief architect of the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war. He has topped Israel’s most-wanted list for years and is believed to have escaped multiple Israeli assassination attempts in the past.
His potential killing threatens to derail cease-fire talks and would be seen as a major Israeli victory in the nine-month campaign.
Hamas rejected the claim. “This is not the first time that the occupation has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, and their lies were later proven to be false," the group said in a post on X.
Jihad Taha, a Hamas spokesperson, added that the claims Deif was the target of the strike is a “baseless statement” and “comes in the context of justifying and covering up the crimes and massacres."
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 289 others were injured in the attack and that many of the injured and dead were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital. At the hospital, Associated Press journalists counted over 40 bodies and witnesses there described an attack that included several strikes.
Footage of the aftermath showed charred tents, burnt-out cars and household belongings scattered across the blackened earth as emergency workers and Palestinians displaced by the nine-month war searched for survivors. Amid the smoke and wreckage, some used carpets to carry the bodies.
Witnesses said the strike landed inside Muwasi, the Israeli designated safe zone that stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis. The coastal strip is where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled to in search of safety, sheltering mostly in makeshift tents.
“This was designated as a safe zone filled with people from the north,” said one displaced Palestinian man who did not give his name. "Children were killed and we had to gather their body parts.“
According to an Israeli official, the strike was carried out within a fenced area of Khan Younis that was run by Hamas, but did not elaborate on the precise location.
The latest deadly strike comes as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators continue to push to narrow gaps between Israel and Hamas over a proposed deal for a three-phase cease-fire and hostage release plan in Gaza.
AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh.
Production by Wafaa Shurafa.
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