Israeli Airstrike on Hiding Place of Mohammed Deif and Hamas Commanders Leaves Dozens Dead

On Saturday, July 23, an Israeli airstrike targeted the hiding place of Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and several other commanders of the group supported by the Islamic Republic in western Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of dozens. Israeli Army Radio reported that Mohammed Deif was hiding in a building located in the al-Mawasi area of western Khan Younis. The Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reported that Raef Salameh, a Hamas commander in Khan Younis, was killed in the attack, and Mohammed Deif was severely injured. As of the writing of this news, Israel has not officially confirmed whether Deif was killed in the attack. Mohammed Deif is at the top of Israel's most wanted list and is considered one of the main architects of the terrorist attack on October 7 of last year, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 citizens, mostly civilians including women, children, and the elderly, and the abduction of over 250 others as hostages. He has been responsible for planning dozens of deadly attacks against Israeli citizens since the mid-1990s and is one of the designers of Hamas tunnels and the bombs used to attack Israeli civilians, having survived several assassination attempts by Israel. Hamas claims that at least 71 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli army's attack aimed at eliminating Mohammed Deif, although the militant group did not mention the number of militants killed in the attack. Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper 'Times of Israel' reported, citing military sources, that several other Hamas operatives were present in the civilian area at the time of the attack. The Israeli army also released two images of the attack site before and after, stating that 'two primary Hamas targets and other terrorists' were hiding among civilians. The country has repeatedly emphasized that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. According to the Israeli army, 'the area that was attacked was open, wooded, and had several buildings and warehouses.' Following the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting with Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, and Ronen Bar, head of the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet). Minutes after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement declaring that he had ordered the elimination of senior Hamas leaders from the very beginning of the assault on Gaza. According to this statement, he held a meeting with security and military officials to discuss developments and next steps. The Israeli airstrike on the hiding place of Hamas leaders coincided with negotiations aimed at establishing a ceasefire and returning hostages abducted by Hamas, and it is unclear what impact this will have on the negotiation process. Netanyahu's office dismissed reports of Israeli forces retreating from the Gaza and Egypt border as 'fake.'