Israeli strike kills nine at Gaza police station, medics say

Gaza, Palestine. An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on Wednesday, according to medics, two days after US envoy Jared Kushner concluded a regional trip without advancing Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

Medics and police sources said several officers were among those killed at the headquarters of the municipal police, which is run by the Hamas-led interior ministry. Fifteen people were wounded.

Police station strike

The Hamas-led interior ministry said eight top-level officers and a 13-year-old girl who was nearby were among those killed.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants who it said “operated from the civilian police station” to advance attacks against Israeli troops.

Separate strike in Nuseirat

Earlier on Wednesday, a separate Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed one Palestinian, medics said, bringing the day’s death toll to at least 10.

The Israeli military said the Nuseirat strike targeted a Hamas militant.

Dispute over Trump roadmap

At the end of July, President Trump announced that Hamas had accepted a roadmap under which the group would decommission its weapons in phases as Israel’s military withdrew from Gaza and halted operations in the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the roadmap, saying the military would withdraw only after Hamas had completely disarmed. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition is trailing in opinion polls ahead of an October election.

Hamas has called on Israel to adhere to the ceasefire and withdraw its forces from Gaza. The two sides have disputed the sequencing of the plan’s implementation.

Israel said its strikes were intended to prevent imminent attacks by Hamas and other Gaza militants.