Israel Targets Key Hamas Commander in Airstrike
In a significant operation, Israel targeted Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, a principal strategist behind the October 7 attack, in an airstrike on Saturday, according to an Israeli security official. The Israeli military is currently evaluating the results of the strike near Khan Younis in southern Gaza to confirm if Deif was indeed killed.
If confirmed, Deif’s death would mark the elimination of the highest-ranking official in the terrorist group by Israel in over nine months of ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. This period of hostilities began following the Hamas-led assault on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals in Israel and the kidnapping of more than 240 others.
The airstrike also targeted the brigade commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis forces, according to the security official.
Meanwhile, Gaza officials reported that numerous Palestinian civilians were killed, and many more were injured in a strike in the Khan Younis area. It remains unclear if this incident was related to the same Israeli airstrike targeting Mohammed Deif.