Israel-Gaza updates: Hamas military chief target of strike that killed 90 people

Mohammed Deif has been the head of Hamas' military wing.

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.


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71 killed in strike on safe zone

At least 71 people have been killed and 289 have been injured in an Israeli strike on Saturday morning in Al Mawasi, west of the southern city of Khan Younis, according to a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

"The toll of the occupation’s horrific massacre against citizens and displaced people in the Mawasi area of ​​Khan Yunis Governorate a short while ago is more than 71 martyrs and 289 injuries, including serious cases that medical teams are still dealing with up to this moment," the statement read.

The ministry also warned that Nasser Hospital has been so overwhelmed with injured patients that it cannot treat everyone. This area is designated as a safe area by the IDF.


Unclear if JLOTS pier can be reattached to get final aid shipments into Gaza, Pentagon says

The U.S. military’s JLOTS pier is back in port in Ashdod, Israel, because it couldn’t be reattached to the beach in Gaza earlier this week, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

It’s unclear if the pier can be reattached to get the final aid shipments from Cyprus into Gaza, Singh said.

"A re-anchoring date has not yet been set at this time," she said.

The U.S. is considering alternatives for getting that aid into Gaza, including using Ashdod to receive the aid and then transferring it into Gaza via land routes, Singh said.

She called the JLOTS pier "a success" because it provided assistance into Gaza to people who needed it.

The pier "will soon cease operations," according to the Pentagon.

"We always said this was a temporary operation. It was always going to have an end date," Singh said.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez


IDF says it found 'Hamas combat compound' and 'war room' in UNRWA headquarters

The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers found a "Hamas combat compound" and a "war room" inside a Gaza headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Separately on Friday, U.N. delegates offered support for UNRWA ahead of a pledging conference for the agency.

"The support for UNRWA during this urgent and difficult time is of vital importance," Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud said Friday at the U.N. in New York. "This agency is the lifeline for Palestine refugees in all areas of operation for the agency, and there is no other agency or body related to the United Nations or humanitarian agencies that's able to perform the functions that UNWRA is performing, especially with regard to education, health and providing for the living and in the areas of operation, including the occupied Palestinian territory."

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman


Israeli defense minister calls for 'objective state commission of inquiry'

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is calling for the establishment of "an objective state commission of inquiry" to delve deeper into the conditions that led to the building of Hamas' power and to the Oct. 7 attack.

Gallant said the commission should "check all of us. … to inspect me, inspect the prime minister, the [Israel Defense Forces] chief of staff and the [Israeli security service]."

Gallant’s request comes as the IDF released a report Thursday of its investigation into the Israel military’s failed response to the Oct. 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri.

-ABC News' Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman