At least 71 have been killed in a huge Israeli airstrike in the region of a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, with 289 injured.

The overnight strike was aimed at Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, and Palestine’s health service has said that many were taken to the nearby Nasser Hospital. 

Israel has also said that Rafa Salama, another top Hamas official, was also targeted in the strike but has not said if he or Mr Deif were killed. 

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

It remains unclear if the attack landed inside Muwasi, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, which stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis.

Smoke from Israeli bombardment billows in Kfarkila in southern Lebanon AFP via Getty Images

It remains unclear if the attack landed inside Muwasi, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, which stretches from northern Rafah to Khan Younis.

The coastal strip is where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled to in search of safety, sheltering mostly in makeshift tents.

Mr Deif is believed by many to be the chief architect of the October 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the Israel-Hamas war.

He has topped Israel's most-wanted list for years and is believed to have escaped multiple Israeli assassination attempts in the past.

At least 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since violence erupted after October 7.

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