By Gaza City, Gaza, July 2024 – The Israeli military reported that senior Hamas commander Rafa Salama was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on Saturday. While Hamas has not confirmed the report, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza stated that the Israeli strike hit a camp for displaced people in a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, killing at least 90 Palestinians and injuring 239 others.
Israel stated that the strike was targeting senior Hamas leaders, but Hamas claims the attack was on “fields” and serves to “justify” the attack. Eyewitnesses reported seeing at least five “big warplanes bombing in the middle of Al Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.”
Most of the injured were taken to the nearby Nasser hospital. However, officials and medics reported that the facility is “no longer able to function” as doctors are “overwhelmed with large numbers of casualties.” Speaking to Newshour on the BBC World Service, Dr. Mohammed Abu Rayya, who was at the hospital dealing with the aftermath, said the majority of the injured were suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds. “It was like being in hell,” he said, adding that many of the casualties were civilians, including women and children.
The Israeli army confirmed that Salama, commander of the Khan Younis Brigade, was one of the “masterminds” of the October 7 attack and a close associate of Mohammed Deif, the top commander of Hamas’ military wing. A military spokesperson stated that Salama’s death “significantly impedes Hamas’ military capabilities.”
It is not known whether Deif was killed. The Israeli army said he was also targeted.
Mohammed Deif has been Israel’s most wanted man for decades and is blamed by Israel for the killings of multiple civilians and soldiers.
According to a senior Hamas official, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said Salama joined Hamas in the early 1990s and quickly rose to the position of commander of the Khan Younis Brigade, the military wing of Hamas.
