- author, Rushdie Abuloff, Tom McArthur and Lucy Clark-Billings
- stock, BBC News
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says at least 90 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in a designated humanitarian area.
An Israeli attack targeting senior Hamas leader Mohammed Taif and his deputy Rafa Salama wounded around 300 people, according to a Health Ministry statement.
At a news conference Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no certainty” that one of them had been killed.
The Israeli army attacked al-Mawasi area near Khan Yunis, which has been designated as a humanitarian zone.
An eyewitness in al-Mawasi told the BBC that the site of the strike looked like an “earthquake” had struck.
Videos from the area show smoldering wreckage and bloody casualties being loaded onto stretchers.
People can be seen desperately trying to pick up the rubble of a huge crater with their hands.
BBC Verify has examined footage of the aftermath of the strike, which confirms it took place inside an area shown on the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) website as a humanitarian zone.
Mr Netanyahu said he gave the order to go ahead with the operation after being briefed by his general security forces.
He said there were no hostages nearby and wanted to know the extent of collateral damage and what kind of weapons would be used.
During the press conference, he promised to eliminate all senior members of the group.
“No matter what, we will get the full leadership of Hamas,” Mr Netanyahu added.
Later Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, quoted by the AFP news agency, accused Mr Netanyahu of trying to prevent a ceasefire in the Gaza war with “brutal massacres”.
Hamas said the claim that its leaders were targets was “false”.
“This is not the first time Israel has claimed to be targeting Palestinian leaders, and that would later be proven false,” the group said in a statement.
An Israeli military official said the attack took place in an “open area” with “no civilians”.
He declined to say whether it was inside a designated safe zone, but said Hamas leaders had set it up “cynically” in a civilian area.
The official also said he was not aware of any hostages in the area during the October 7 attack on Israel.
He added that “precise intelligence” was gathered before the “precision strike”.
A doctor at a hospital dealing with the aftermath of the attack told the BBC it was “one of the black days”.
Speaking to Newshour on the BBC World Service, Dr Mohammed Abu Raya said most of the incoming cases had died, while others had suffered multiple lacerations.
He said it was like being in “hell”, adding that many of the casualties were civilians, especially women and children.
Footage from a nearby Kuwaiti field hospital showed scenes of chaos as patients were treated on the ground.
The British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis was “overwhelmed” and could no longer function.
Who is Mohammad Taif?
Mohammed Taif, head of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, is one of Israel’s most wanted men.
He was jailed by the Israeli authorities in 1989, after which he formed brigades aimed at capturing Israeli soldiers.
Israel accuses it of planning and overseeing bus bombings that killed tens of thousands of Israelis in 1996, and of involvement in the capture and murder of three Israeli soldiers in the mid-1990s.
He is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the October 7 Hamas attack, when around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners – mostly civilians – were killed and 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
This led to an Israeli military operation in Gaza that killed 38,400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
A Hamas official quoted by Reuters called Saturday’s attack a “severe escalation” that shows Israel is not interested in reaching a cease-fire agreement.
Ceasefire talks in Qatar and Egypt ended without success on Friday, the BBC understands.
In a separate incident, Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defense Agency said 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike in western Gaza.
The attack reportedly targeted a prayer hall in the Shaadi refugee camp west of Gaza City. The Israeli military has yet to comment on the claim.
