Gaza City, Gaza Strip. An Israeli airstrike on Saturday killed Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, head of the Hamas-led police force in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the group-run interior ministry and medics.
Maqadma, also known as the governor of the northern Gaza Strip, was killed in the Sheikh Radwan area north of Gaza City, the officials said.
Other reported deaths
In a separate incident, an Israeli strike killed a Palestinian medic in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, medics said.
They also reported that a police officer wounded in an Israeli airstrike last week died on Saturday.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents.
Police force targets
Israel has killed dozens of members of the Hamas-led police force, including senior officials, in recent months. It has accused many of them of belonging to Hamas’ armed wing and posing imminent threats to Israel and its forces in Gaza.
Hamas has said Israeli attacks on the police force and its headquarters are intended to create chaos and anarchy in the enclave and violate the U.S.-brokered October ceasefire.
Ceasefire and mediation efforts
The latest deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since the October ceasefire took effect to more than 1,180, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials.
Hamas does not usually disclose its losses. While the truce halted full-scale fighting, near-daily Israeli strikes have continued. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza during the same period.
Mediators including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States have been seeking to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict, which calls for Hamas to disarm and for Israeli withdrawals. There has been little sign of progress in those efforts.