12 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, including six police officers
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip): At least 12 people, including six police officers, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip over the past two days, according to local health officials.
On Wednesday, three members of the same family were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, officials at Al Aqsa Hospital said.
The previous day, an airstrike on a police station in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed a woman and six police officers, hospital officials said. Another man was killed in a strike on a tent camp in Khan Younis, while a child was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces in the Muwasi area near Rafah, according to medical officials.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes in central and southern Gaza. However, it said four of the police officers killed in Jabaliya were Hamas militants, although it did not provide evidence to support the claim.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry identified one of those killed as Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, head of the Jabaliya police station.
Israel has repeatedly targeted Gaza's police force during the conflict, arguing that police facilities become legitimate military targets when used to support Hamas' military operations or house militants. Hamas, however, maintains that its police are responsible for civilian law enforcement and public order.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has criticised repeated attacks on Gaza's police force, saying police personnel have been targeted during routine duties such as directing traffic and patrolling markets. In a statement issued in June, the UN said the pattern of attacks raised concerns that Israeli forces were failing to distinguish between police officers and armed militants.
Ofer Guterman, a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel considers parts of Hamas' policing apparatus to be closely linked to the group's military infrastructure, citing allegations that police facilities are used for logistics, operations and weapons storage.
The fragile ceasefire deal in October attempted to halt a two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas. The heaviest fighting has subsided, but at least 1,123 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory's Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says women and children account for the majority of those killed.
Israel says its military operations are in response to attacks and ceasefire violations by Hamas and other militant groups. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
The war erupted after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.