The prospects for a ceasefire and the release of Hamas hostages are uncertain after a deadly Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip left nearly a hundred people dead.
Saturday’s attack on the Al-Mawasi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip was one of the deadliest in the war. The Gaza Health Ministry informed 90 dead and at least 300 injured. However, medical personnel working on the ground reported that many of the wounded were near death. The Health Ministry reported:
A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews are unable to reach them.
According to Israeli military sources, the assault targeted the leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, and the commander of the Hamas brigade in the town of Khan Younis, Rafa Salama. Despite, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed doubts that both figures killed in the strike.
Along with the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jihija al-Sinwar, Deif is Hamas’ most important face in the Palestinian territory, as Israel considers Deif and the top Hamas official in Gaza, Sinwar, to be the main architects of the 7 October attack that claimed the lives of some 1,200 people in southern Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Capturing or killing the two men is a major goal of the Israeli leadership.
Hamas, for its part, rejected the claim that Deif was in the area, saying the false claims by the Israeli side were just a cover-up for the scale of the horrific massacre, as the strike was carried out in an area the Israeli military had labelled safe for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, according to Hamas officials.
The Israeli attack, which inflicted heavy civilian casualties, came at a sensitive time in the ceasefire effort, with Joe Biden yesterday confirming a framework agreement within which both sides would come to terms. The issue of a complete agreement between the two parties is now in question.
Tel Aviv opted for such a strike for the reason that Deif’s death would not only give Israel a major victory and Hamas a painful psychological blow, but also provide confidence in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, as Deif’s death would be a significant step in destroying Hamas’ military capabilities, as the prime minister has been saying for some time.
The Al-Mawasi camp lies on the Gaza coast, halfway between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. The region initially defined by Israel as a “humanitarian zone.” The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated in May that more than 60,000 people were seeking protection there, mostly in simple tents and, according to humanitarian organisations, in dire living conditions. Earlier, the Israeli army said its attacks were continuing across the Gaza Strip, including in major urban areas such as Gaza City.
The Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been attempting to narrow the differences between Israel and Hamas over a proposed agreement on the three-phase ceasefire and hostage release plan in the Gaza Strip. The proposal seeks an initial ceasefire with limited hostage releases and Israeli withdrawal from populated areas of Gaza.
