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JERUSALEM —Israel launched a large airstrike Saturday on the southern Gaza Strip that it said targeted the commander of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif. Hamas said at least 90 Palestinians were killed and more than 300 wounded, while senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya told Al-Jazeera that Deif had not been killed.
"We say to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that Mohammad Deif is listening to you right now and mocking your lies," al-Hayya told Al-Jazeera.
At a news conference, Netanyahu said that Israel will eventually get to all of Hamas' military leaders and said that Deif, whom Israel has repeatedly tried to assassinate, was responsible for the deaths of many Israelis.
"His hands are steeped in the blood of many Israelis," Netanyahu said. "At the beginning of the campaign, I laid down a rule: The Hamas murderers are dead men, from the first to the last."
Hamas officials said the strike hit inside a strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea known as al-Mawasi, where Israel said Palestinians would be safe if they evacuated other areas of Gaza according to Israeli demands.
Hamas said in a statement that Israel's statement about targeting Hamas leader is false.
"The Israeli allegations are nonsense, and they aim to justify the horrifying massacre. All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a grave escalation of the war of genocide, backed by the American support and world silence," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. He also said the strike showed Israel is not interested in reaching a cease-fire agreement.
The Israeli airstrike came amid reports of progress in the cease-fire talks that would lead to freedom for the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza and freedom for thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
Weekly demonstrations in Israel calling on the government to accept the cease-fire have grown in both numbers and intensity. At a demonstration Saturday night, protester Ayala Metzger said she hoped the attack on Deif would not derail the hostage negotiations.
"I don't know about Mohammed Deif," she said. "I know that keeping the war is bad for all of us. It needs to be stopped, and we need to bring the hostages back. I think Netanyahu, if he killed Mohammed Deif, so he now has his picture of victory? So, bring them back now - that's it."
There are 120 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, although at least 43 of them have been declared dead. Israeli officials say time is running out for those who are still alive and are pressing for Israel to accept the U.S.-backed deal on the table for a three-phase cease-fire.
Israeli analysts say that if Deif was killed in the airstrike, Hamas could suspend the cease-fire talks in response. The Israeli army also told Israelis to prepare for possible rocket strikes by Hamas. In the early weeks of the war, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel, but that rocket fire has diminished considerably since then.
Israel says the shadowy Deif was one of the architects of the October 7 terror attacks that sent thousands of Hamas fighters into Israel and killed about 1,200 Israelis, as well as taking some 250 hostages, about 100 of whom were returned in a November cease-fire deal.
In response, Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 38,200 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. In May, Israel estimated the death toll at 30,000, and said that most of the dead are combatants.
Close to three-quarters of Gaza's 2.3 million population is displaced, and nearly the entire population is at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.