Hamas Says Top Commander Alive & Well After Israel Reported His Likely Death

On Monday Hamas announced that its top military commander, the chief of the Qassem Brigades Mohammed Deif, is safe and escaped a massive Israeli strike targeting him Saturday.

The IDF military attack hit a camp for the internally displaced, killing at least 90 people and wounding hundreds more. Gaza authorities say that civilians were wiped out in what should have been a safe zone, but Israel has claimed it was mostly militants killed. The Associated Press is reporting, “Hamas said Sunday that Gaza cease-fire talks continue and the group’s military commander is in good health.”

Israeli leadership and media for nearly 24 hours speculated that Deif could be dead, but uncertainty has loomed. Israel has said, however, that Rafa Salama – a close associate to Deif – was killed in the operation.

US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew said Monday he believed there are indications Deif has been eliminated. “There are still many questions regarding the results of the attack against Mohammed Deif,” ​​he said in a press briefing. “I can’t confirm whether it was successful or not, but there are indications that they have achieved it.” 

Following the major aerial assault, there were reports Sunday that Hamas has pulled out of Qatar-mediated ceasefire talks, but the reports proved premature and Hamas has since announce it did not pull out.

Meanwhile, airstrikes have been reported Monday across all areas of Gaza, leading to an uptick in casualties. Al Jazeera has some of the latest updates as follows:

• The Gaza heaquarters of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, in Gaza City has been “flattened and turned into a battlefield”, says chief Philippe Lazzarini, as Israel’s latest ground campaign in the city continues to rage.
• Children among the 80 Palestinians killed over the past day as fighter jets, heavy artillery, and helicopter gunships attack Gaza from the north to south.
• Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant praises the pilots who carried out deadly air strikes on the al-Mawasi displacement camp that killed 90 people, saying Hamas is being eroded every day with no ability to arm itself, organise, or “care for the wounded”.
• Officials in Gaza say Israeli missiles killed 17 Palestinians and injured 80 sheltering at a United Nations school for displaced people in Nuseirat refugee camp.

But the Israeli side could be taking more losses than what has been made public. On Monday the Israeli military in a briefing warned that it is low on tanks and ammunition.

“During the course of the war, many tanks were damaged, which are disabled at this stage and are not used for combat or training, and it is not expected that new tanks will be introduced into the corps in the near future,” the Israeli military said in a statement. It noted that resources are “very limited” due to the constraints of the war.