Gaza: Israel says it targeted Hamas military leader, Islamist movement denounces carnage of civilians

Israel said Saturday having screwed two senior Hamas leaders, including its military chief, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where The Palestinian Islamist movement has reported 90 deaths in an Israeli strike on a displacement camp.

In the tenth month of its war in Gaza against Hamas, the Israeli army claimed to have targeted Mohammed Deif, the head of its armed wing, among the officials most wanted by Israel, and Rafa Salama, commander of the brigade in Khan Younes .

“There is no certainty that either of them were eliminated,” the Israeli Prime Minister then told the press, Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the area of ​​the strike, near Khan Younes, in the south of the territory, the Hamas government's Ministry of Health announced that 90 Palestinians had been killed “half of whom were women and children” and 300 injured in an airstrike on the al-Mawasi displaced persons camp, revising upwards a previous toll of at least 71 dead.

This area had been designated by Israel as a “humanitarian zone”.

“The strike was carried out in a fenced area managed by Hamas where, according to our information, only Hamas terrorists were present, and no civilians,” the army said in a statement, estimating that “most of the victims were also terrorists.”

The operation “sends the message that even as Israel continues negotiations for a hostage deal, it will continue to target senior Hamas leaders,” an Israeli security source told AFP. appalling massacre”.

– “No place is safe” –

A Palestinian is escorted to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes after a strike on the al-Mawasi camp, July 13, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

Victims of the al-Mawasi strike were transferred to several hospitals. “There was a drone shot, then three missiles,” reports Mahmoud Abou Akar in the camp. “It happened suddenly, without warning.”

“There are people who have lost legs or arms everywhere, it’s an inconceivable scene,” describes Mahmoud Chahine, in tears, to AFP.

According to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, around 1.5 million people are in the al-Mawasi sector, in Khan Younes and further south in Rafah.

“The assertion that the inhabitants of Gaza can move to 'safe' or 'humanitarian' areas is false”, reacted the head of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, to X. In Gaza “no place is safe. No one is safe”, he stressed.

After months of international calls for a cease -fire, the tone is also rising in Israel against the government, with three demonstrations in the evening, two in Tel Aviv and one in Jerusalem, against the government and to demand an agreement for the release of the hostages.

People march towards Jerusalem in an attempt to pressure the Israeli government to negotiate a deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on October 7, July 11, 2024 © AFP – Menahem KAHANA

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The war broke out on October 7 after the unprecedented attack by Hamas infiltrated from Gaza in southern Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli data.

Of 251 people then kidnapped, 116 are still being held in Gaza, 42 of whom are dead, according to the army.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, in power since 2007 in the Gaza Strip, and launched an offensive which has so far left 38,443 dead, mostly civilians, according to reports. data from the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-led Gaza government.

– “25 toilets for 14,000 people” –

The Israeli army is also continuing its operations in the city of Gaza (north), where more than a hundred bodies were discovered Thursday and Friday in areas where violent fighting had raged, according to Civil Defense.< /p> < IMG Alt = "Israeli Army" SRC = "https://img-4.linternaute.com/hasobozfckgkmzf0oluotq6n-Gy=/600x/smart/d874c3666503649fbb8c459f1555c5969/ccmcm .jpg " /> This photo released by the Israeli army on July 12, 2024 shows an Israeli soldier pointing his rifle from a building in the Gaza Strip © Israeli Army – –

The Palestinian Civil Defense reported 20 deaths on Saturday in a strike on the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. A previous report reported 17 killed.

At the request of AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately comment on this information.

The humanitarian situation is appalling in the besieged Palestinian territory: in a school in Deir el-Balah, 14,000 displaced Gazans share 25 toilets, Unrwa denounced Saturday.

– “Positive trend” –

On the diplomatic level, efforts for a truce under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, continue.

Palestinians look at the remains of tents after an Israeli strike on the al-Mawasi camp for displaced people, near the town of Khan Yunis, July 13, 2024 © AFP – Bashar TALEB

On Saturday, Qatar condemned “in the strongest terms, the horrific attack carried out by the Israeli occupying forces” against the al-Mawasi camp.

US President Joe Biden said Friday that the “framework” of the ceasefire plan he unveiled on May 31 had been “accepted by Israel and Hamas.” “There are still gaps to fill” but “the trend is positive”, he declared.

“I am attached to the plan to liberate our hostages, but Hamas continues to adhere to demands that contradict the plan and endanger Israel's security,” said Mr. Netanyahu on Friday, who has always said he wants to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. – classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union – and the release of all hostages.

Map of the Gaza Strip locating the towns of Gaza, Rafah, Khan Younes, Deir el-Balah and Al-Zawayda © AFP – Sylvie HUSSON, Sabrina BLANCHARD

On Saturday, Hamas official Bassim Nae'm told AFP that the movement was calling for international “pressure” on the Israeli Prime Minister “to reach an agreement that would lead to the 'end of the war and the conclusion of a prisoner exchange agreement.'

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