The head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was the target of an attack in Gaza that has left at least 71 dead, an Israel official confirmed.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 71 people were killed in the Israeli attack on Saturday in the south of the war-stricken enclave.

The ministry said 289 others were injured in the attack that struck the Khan Younis area. It said that many of the injured and dead were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital.

At the hospital, Associated Press journalists counted over 40 bodies and witnesses there described an attack that included several strikes.

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