Israeli military intelligence and the army currently estimate that Mohammed Deif was "seriously injured" in a recent raid in Mawasi, in the south of the Gaza Strip. However, Hamas denies these claims, with one of its senior figures describing the news as "nonsense." "All the martyrs are civilians," explained Abu Zuhri, a Hamas representative. He further accused Israel of escalating a genocidal war, allegedly supported by the USA and the silence of the world.
In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they had "attacked Muhammad Deif and Rafa Salameh." According to a military spokesman, the two were "in a civilian complex that Hamas had fenced off with trees, in an open area, small buildings, a low structure, and sheds so that the terrorists could move around safely." The spokesman added that even the Hamas agents who had secured the complex were injured.
The IDF clarified that the targeted area was not the tents of internally displaced persons beyond the fence. Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza has become increasingly dire. Around 60 bodies were discovered under the rubble of buildings in Shujaiya, a district of Gaza, after the Israeli army announced its withdrawal following a two-week military offensive.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Civil Defense in Gaza, stated that Civil Defense teams, with the help of residents, managed to find around sixty martyrs in the Shujaiya district, which had become a "disaster zone." He declared that "85% of the buildings in the neighborhood are uninhabitable," not counting the demolished infrastructure.
The Israeli army announced that it had "completed" its offensive in Shujaiya on Wednesday evening, after violent fighting that began on June 27 and pushed tens of thousands of people to flee. The operation reportedly dismantled eight tunnels and killed "dozens of terrorists."
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, resulting in the death of 1,195 people on the Israeli side, the majority of whom were civilians, according to an AFP count using official Israeli data. The Israeli military campaign of retaliation has devastated the Gaza Strip, leaving 38,345 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
- The recent escalation in violence between Israel and Hamas has drawn international attention and concern. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, with thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire and infrastructure severely damaged.
- The international community has called for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid to be allowed into the region. However, both sides remain entrenched in their positions, making a peaceful resolution seem increasingly elusive.
