Deadliest Gaza airstrike in weeks: 91 Palestinians killed

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 chief Mohammed Deif.

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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it remained unclear whether Deif had been killed, telling a news conference: "Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas."

Hamas 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.

The Israeli military said the strike against Deif also targeted Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade, describing them as two of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the nine-month war in Gaza.

An Israeli military official earlier told reporters it was still verifying the strike's results. Deif has survived seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021, and has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

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.

"I left the tent and looked around, all the tents were knocked down, body parts, bodies everywhere, elderly women thrown on the floor, young children in pieces," he told Reuters.

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.

Reuters footage showed ambulances racing towards the area amidst clouds of smoke and dust. Displaced people, including women and children, were fleeing in panic, some holding belongings in their hands.

The Israeli military published an aerial photo of the site, which Reuters was not immediately able to verify, where it said "terrorists hid among civilians."

Separately on Saturday, at least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a prayer hall at a Gaza camp for displaced people in west Gaza City, Palestinian health and civil emergency officials said.

Many of those wounded in the strike, including women and children, were taken to the nearby Nasser Hospital, which hospital officials said had been overwhelmed and was "no longer able to function" due to the intensity of the Israeli offensive and an acute shortage of medical supplies.

"The hospital is full of patients, it's full of wounded, we can't find beds for people," said Atef al-Hout, director of the hospital, adding that it was the only one still operating in southern Gaza.

Netanyahu, in televised remarks on Saturday evening, said increasing military pressure on Hamas would improve the chances of a deal to return Israeli hostages.

As the prime minister spoke, protesters continued to rally in Tel Aviv, singing songs and waving signs calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Thousands of protesters also marched outside Jerusalem earlier in the day.

Critics have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, which Israel denies. It characterises its actions as self-defence to prevent another attack like October 7, though the International Court of Justice ordered Israel in January to take action to prevent acts of genocide.