After at least 90 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike, Israel is still struggling to assess whether or not their military successfully eliminated Hamas’ top commander, Mohammed Deif, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing military officials.
Meanwhile, Hamas officials have denied the Israeli military’s claim and said Deif was in good enough health to actually listen to Netanyahu’s press conference about Saturday’s attack.
Yossi Kuperwasser, a former head of research for Israeli military intelligence, said the IDF will likely seek proof that the Hamas leader was killed.
At least 90 Palestinians were killed in the al-Mawasi area - in what was supposed to be a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it remained unclear whether Deif was killed in the strike, and vowed further military pressure against Hamas.
More than half of those killed in Saturday's attack were women and children, Gaza officials added. It was reported that the attack sent large plumes of smoke into the air and a crater was left where it struck.
After three days of intense ceasefire talks, communication between the two parties has ceased. Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters on Saturday that Israel lacked a genuine intent to reach an agreement. They also accused Israeli mediators of behavior that revealed “internal discord”.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 38,584 since last October, while over 88,800 have been injured, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry's estimates.