SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Israel carried out airstrikes today in an area of Gaza it had designated as a safe zone. Military officials say their targets were two of the most senior leaders of the armed wing of Hamas. The airstrikes killed at least 70 Palestinians and injured dozens of others according to health officials there. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi joins us from Tel Aviv. Hadeel, thanks for being with us.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Thank you.
SIMON: What do we know about the strikes?
AL-SHALCHI: So early this morning, we received news of dozens of killed and wounded Palestinians after a major Israeli strike west of the southern city of Khan Younis in an area called al-Mawasi. Now, al-Mawasi, like you said, is a designated humanitarian zone by the Israeli military, and thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering there in encampments.
Now, shortly after the strikes, I talked to Khan Younis civil defense chief, who said he was standing in a chaotic morgue watching the dead being piled in. His voice broke on the phone as he told me he believed at the time that at least 70 Palestinians were killed, and dozens more were wounded in the attack, including children and rescue teams that were on their way to help the injured.
But then shortly after the strikes, the Israeli military officials told us that the strikes were targeting two senior Hamas officials. They said one of them is Mohammed Deif, who is the chief of Hamas' military wing. And the second is Rafe Salama, the top commander of the Hamas branch in Khan Younis.
Hamas put out a statement rejecting that any of their leaders were targeted, which is kind of ambiguous. It doesn't speak to whether or not Hamas leaders were in the compound. And so far, the Israeli military said that it could not confirm if the Hamas leaders were killed.
SIMON: And tell us the significance of Mohammed Deif.
AL-SHALCHI: Mohammed Deif is this shadowy, elusive figure who has been one of those at the very top of Israel's most wanted list for decades. He's the second-in-command to Hamas' Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar. Deif is in charge of the Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of Hamas. He's the mastermind behind many Hamas attacks on the Israeli military and civilians.
He's also known to be one of the architects behind the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages according to Israel. Of course, we all know that triggered the war in Gaza, which has now killed more than 38,000 Palestinians according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
SIMON: Any other details the Israeli military has given about the strikes?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah, well, an Israeli military official told reporters today that the strike was carried out on what he described as a fenced-in compound which Hamas was using within the safe zone. They say it was an open area surrounded by trees and sheds and that several other Hamas militants were killed as they were guarding the compound.
Again, Israel has not yet been able to confirm whether this strike succeeded in killing Deif. They also said that Deif was targeted when he was aboveground and after he left a network of tunnels. Now, Israel has tried to assassinate Deif several times in the past few years, and he's always managed to escape. So we'll have to wait for more information before we know if they were successful this time.
SIMON: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thanks so much for being with us, Hadeel.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
