Cairo: At least 12 Palestinians, including two children, a pregnant woman and eight police officers, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to hospital authorities.
One strike early Sunday hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing four people — a couple in their 30s, their 10-year-old son, and a 15-year-old neighbour. The woman was pregnant with twins, the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. The teenager was taken to Awda Hospital.
“We were sleeping and woke up to the strike of a missile. The strike was strong,” said neighbour Mahmoud al-Muhtaseb, adding that there had been no prior warning.
In a separate incident later in the day, an Israeli strike targeted a police vehicle on the Salah al-Din Road at the entrance to the central town of Zawaida, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
The strike killed eight police officers, including Colonel Iyad Ab Yousef, a senior police official in central Gaza, the ministry said. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed the deaths and said 14 others were wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces regarding either strike.
The police force in Gaza has been overseen by Hamas since the group seized power in the territory in 2007, maintaining internal security while also suppressing dissent.
During the war, many police officers withdrew from public view as Israeli forces captured large areas of Gaza and targeted Hamas security forces in airstrikes. However, after an October ceasefire, police gradually returned to the streets and resumed control in areas not held by the Israeli military.
Sunday’s casualties are among the latest Palestinian deaths reported in the enclave since the ceasefire agreement aimed at halting more than two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Although the most intense fighting has eased, Israeli forces have continued to carry out frequent airstrikes and fire on Palestinians near military-controlled zones, killing more than 650 people since the ceasefire, according to Gaza health officials.
Israel says its actions target militants or respond to violations of the truce. However, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that roughly half of those killed have been women and children.
Overall, more than 72,200 Palestinians have been killed during the war, which began after Hamas-led militants launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.
The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-led administration, keeps detailed casualty records that are widely considered generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts, although it does not distinguish between civilians and militants.
Militants have also carried out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are a response to such incidents and other ceasefire violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce came into effect.
With PTI inputs