July 13 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces targeted Hamas leader in an airstrike Saturday in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza that the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said killed 71 and injured 300.
Health Ministry officials did not say how many casualties are civilians or members of the military wing of Hamas, which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
IDF officials said they targeted Mohammed Deif, who leads the Hamas military's Qassam Brigades and is accused of planning the Oct. 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 Israeli civilians and resulted in the kidnapping of 250.
The IDF also targeted Rafe Salama, who is the Hamas leader of the Khan Younis brigade.
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Ignoring international pressure to end its war on Hamas before achieving previously stated goals of eliminating those responsible for coordinating the Oct. 7 attack enabled the airstrike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told media Saturday.
"At the beginning of the war, I set a principle; The Hamas murderers are dead men," Netanyahu said. "From the first to the last, we will bring them to justice."
Eliminating the Hamas leaders is one of the Israel's goals in the conflict, he said.
Other goals are to free all hostages and eliminate Gaza as a threat to Israel.
Achieving all goals "advances our goals in relation to other fronts," Netanyahu said. "It sends a message of deterrence to all of Iran's proxies and to Iran itself."
He said Iran is trying to "strangle" Israel by creating a "choking ring of terror and missile fire from Iran, Hezbollah, Houthis, the militias in Syria and Iraq, and other fronts."
IDF officials said they are in the process of confirming whether Deif or Salama were killed or survived the airstrike.
The International Criminal Court in May announced it issued warrants for the arrest of Deif and other Hamas leaders for organizing and carrying out the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians.
The IDF earlier designated al-Mawasi a safe zone for civilians. Hamas is accused of using them to shield its militants and their leaders in violation of international law.
Al-Mawasi is near Khan Younis, which the IDF recently warned civilians to evacuate due to Hamas relocating many of its remaining militants after fleeing Rafah using underground tunnels.
There is no indication that Hamas allows civilians to shelter in or evacuate dangerous areas using tunnels built and used by Hamas to enable its militants to move underground throughout Gaza.
