diff --git a/src/diff/index.js b/src/diff/index.js
index 427d3cf314..0e39c749dd 100644
--- a/src/diff/index.js
+++ b/src/diff/index.js
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ function diffElementNodes(
 
 			newVNode._children = [];
 		} else {
-			if (oldHtml) dom.innerHTML = '';
+			if (oldHtml) dom.textContent = '';
 
 			if (
 				nodeType == 'foreignObject' ||
diff --git a/src/internal.d.ts b/src/internal.d.ts
index fe6713e071..08d9803315 100644
--- a/src/internal.d.ts
+++ b/src/internal.d.ts
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ export interface PreactElement extends preact.ContainerNode {
 	data?: CharacterData['data'];
 	// Property to set __dangerouslySetInnerHTML
 	innerHTML?: Element['innerHTML'];
+	textContent?: Element['textContent'];
 	remove?: Element['remove'];
 
 	// Attribute reading and setting