Israeli airstrikes kill at least 12 in Gaza, including police officers

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have resulted in at least twelve deaths over the last two days, local health officials reported. On Wednesday, a family of three was killed in central Gaza, while a separate strike on a police station in the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday killed a woman and six police officers. Additional fatalities included a man in a tent camp in Khan Younis and a child shot by Israeli forces near Rafah.

The Israeli military did not comment on the incidents in central and southern Gaza. In a statement about the Jabalia attack, it said four of the police officers were Hamas militants, but provided no evidence of their involvement in attacks. Hamas’s Interior Ministry identified one of the deceased officers, Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, as the senior commander of the Jabalia police station.

Israel maintains that police stations are legitimate targets when used for military purposes or when occupied by individuals involved in terrorist activities. The military did not specify what activities it believed were occurring at the Jabalia facility. The United Nations human-rights office has previously condemned attacks on Gaza’s police, noting a pattern of strikes that do not distinguish between police personnel and armed fighters.

Ofer Guterman, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said the targeting reflects Israel’s view that parts of Hamas’s policing structure are integrated with its military network, citing dual-role personnel and the use of facilities for weapons storage and logistics.

Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the Gaza Health Ministry, which is considered a reliable source by UN agencies, reports that more than 1,100 people have been killed, with women and children comprising the majority of the casualties. Israeli forces say their strikes respond to shooting attacks by militants, and five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began.