Dozens Killed in Gaza Airstrike on Hamas Leader

Palestinians poured into Khan Younis' overwhelmed Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where some were receiving treatment on the hospital floor, after an Israeli airstrike killed dozens.

The hospital's director, dr. Atef al-Hout, said the situation was "catastrophic", as the medical unit is lacking medicines, tools and beds to accommodate all patients.

The airstrike targeted Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif in Gaza, a security official and Israel Army Radio said, in an attack that the enclave's health ministry said had killed at least 71 Palestinians.

It was unclear whether Deif was killed, the security official said. Army Radio said Deif was hiding in a building in Israeli-designated humanitarian zone Al-Mawasi, west of the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed the attack targeted Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas's military wing, according to Israeli media.

Deif was one of the masterminds of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. He has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021 and has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades.

The Gaza health ministry said at least 289 people were injured in the attack.

Al-Mawasi, a coastal area near Khan Younis, was designated a safe zone by the Israeli military after it ordered civilians to evacuate other parts of the Gaza Strip.

The strike on the camp for displaced Gazans caused massive damage as fleets of ambulances rushed casualties to the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, the Kuwaiti field hospital in Rafah and other nearby clinics.

Gaza's civil defense agency said ongoing shelling had prevented its teams from reaching victims in the tent city where tens of thousands have sought refuge.

The health ministry in the besieged Hamas-run Palestinian enclave said at least 71 people were killed and 289 others were wounded in the attack.