Israel launches fresh Gaza strikes in Khan Younis and Maghazi as ceasefire violence intensifies
An Israeli air strike has killed the head of the police force in Khan Younis and his aide, according to the Gaza Strip's Hamas-run interior ministry.
Israeli strikes have killed at least three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including two members of the Hamas-run police force, health officials say, in violence that underscores the fragility of a US-brokered ceasefire.
Medics said an Israeli air strike killed one person and wounded two others in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the enclave.
The Israeli military said it struck two militants who were carrying out “suspicious” activity and approached forces in the area, posing an immediate threat.
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The Israeli military said it struck militants of the elite Hamas force in the southern Gaza Strip which operated to “advance imminent attacks” against Israeli forces.
Reuters has previously reported that Israel has intensified its attacks on the Gazan Hamas-run police force, which the militant group has used to re-establish governance in areas under its control.
Violence in the Gaza Strip has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks.
At least 850 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, local medics say, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers over the same period.
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for ceasefire violations.
The blast that killed the two police officers left only a mangled metal skeleton where their car had stood in the al-Amal neighbourhood of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Mourners chanted “there is no God but Allah, the martyrs are beloved by Allah” as the men’s white-shrouded bodies were carried on shoulders through the streets during the funeral.
One of the mourners, Ali Mousa, condemned Israel’s killing of members of the enclave’s police force.
“Although the ceasefire came into effect several months ago, the occupation continues to target the police officers to cause chaos among the people of the same nation,” Mousa told Reuters.
“The occupation aims to create chaos and confusion within the Gaza Strip. This is its sole objective,” he added.
More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, Gazan health authorities say.
