Gaza Airstrike: Humanitarian Zone Destroyed, Leaders in Crosshairs

An Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas leaders in Gaza, resulting in the death of at least 90 Palestinians in an area designated as a humanitarian zone. The strike aimed at Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Deif. Netanyanu vows continued action. Hospital overwhelmed, ceasefire talks stalled.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 90 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza on Saturday, the enclave's health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it remained unclear whether Deif and another Hamas commander had been killed and promised to continue to target Hamas leadership, saying more military pressure on the group would improve chances of a hostage deal, even as three days of ceasefire talks separately halted on Saturday.

'Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas,' Netanyahu told a news conference. The militant group denied Deif had been killed, according to a senior Hamas official on Al Jazeera TV. Hamas earlier said Israeli claims it had targeted leaders of the group were false and aimed at justifying the attack, which was the deadliest Israeli attack in Gaza in weeks.

Displaced people sheltering in the area said their tents were torn down by the force of the strike, describing bodies and body parts strewn on the ground. 'I couldn't even tell where I was or what was happening,' said Sheikh Youssef, a resident of Gaza City who is currently displaced in the Al-Mawasi area. The Gaza health ministry said at least 91 Palestinians were killed in the strike and 300 injured, the deadliest toll in weeks in the conflict-shattered enclave. Al-Mawasi is a designated humanitarian area that the Israeli army has repeatedly urged Palestinians to head to after issuing evacuation orders from other areas.

(With inputs from agencies.)