Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 12 people over a two-day period, according to local health officials. On Wednesday, a strike in central Gaza killed three members of one family, Al Aqsa Hospital reported. This followed several Tuesday incidents, including a strike on a police station in the Jabaliya refugee camp that killed six officers and one woman, and a separate bombing of a tent camp in Khan Younis that resulted in one death.
The Israeli military stated that four of the officers killed in Jabaliya were Hamas militants, though they did not provide specific evidence of the individuals' involvement in active attacks. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry identified one of the deceased as Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, the head of the Jabaliya station. Israel maintains that police facilities are legitimate targets if used for military operations, while Hamas states the force is strictly for civilian law enforcement.
These strikes occurred despite a fragile ceasefire established in October following a two-year conflict. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 1,123 people have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire began, while the Israeli military reports five soldiers have been killed in the same period. The United Nations human rights office recently expressed concern over the targeting of police personnel, stating such actions often fail to distinguish between civilian law enforcement and armed combatants.