Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least eight, including five police officers

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories. At least eight Palestinians were killed on Sunday in two separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to medics and the interior ministry run by Hamas. Five of the dead were police officers.

Details of the strikes

Medics reported that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed three people. The interior ministry stated that the five police officers died in a different strike in the western part of Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.

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The Israeli military said it hit several militants in Khan Younis and gave no further details. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Gaza City strike.

Disputed ceasefire

Israel says Hamas has been rebuilding its weapons and carrying out attacks, which it describes as breaches of a ceasefire now a year old. In recent weeks it has intensified its strikes against the group.

Hamas denies attempting attacks or restoring its arsenal. It accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace agreement.

Stalled reconstruction

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States last year, envisages the eventual rebuilding of the territory. Progress has been limited, because negotiators have not agreed on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to pull back its forces. Israeli troops control roughly two-thirds of the territory and have ordered residents to leave those areas.

Almost all of the more than 2 million inhabitants live in the remaining third of the enclave, which is still effectively controlled by Hamas. Most of them stay among the ruins of the war, in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.

Casualty figures

Health officials in Gaza say at least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed in that period.

Palestinian authorities report that more than 74,000 people have died in Israel’s offensive on Gaza. It was launched after fighters led by Hamas killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.