Israeli strikes kill three people in Gaza, testing fragile ceasefire

CAIRO/GAZA - Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including two members of the Hamas-run police force, health officials said, in violence that underscored the fragility of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Medics said an airstrike killed one person in the Maghazi refugee camp, while another killed the head of the criminal police force in Khan Younis, Wessam Abdel-Hadi, and his aide, according to Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry.

Reuters has previously reported that Israel has heightened its attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run ‌police ⁠force, which the militant group has used to re-establish governance in areas under its control.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident.

PERSISTENT VIOLENCE

The blast that killed the two police officers left only a mangled metal skeleton where their car had stood in the Al-Amal neighbourhood of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Mourners chanted "there is no God but Allah, the martyrs are beloved by Allah" as the men's white-shrouded bodies were carried on shoulders through the streets during the funeral.

One of the mourners, Ali Mousa, condemned Israel's killing of members of the enclave's police force.

"Although the ceasefire came into effect several months ago, the occupation continues to target the police officers to cause chaos among the people of the same nation," Mousa told Reuters.

"The occupation aims to create chaos and confusion within the Gaza Strip. This is its sole objective," he added.

Violence in Gaza has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks.

At least 850 Palestinians have been killed since the ​ceasefire took ​effect, local medics say, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers over ​the same period.

Israel and Hamas have blamed ​each ⁠other for ceasefire violations.

More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war started in October 2023, Gaza health authorities say, most ⁠of ​them civilians.

- Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, and Haseeb Alwazeer in Gaza;Editing by Bernadette Baum and Helen Popper/Reuters