Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Kill Civilians, Including Children and Police Officers in Gaza

Several Palestinians, including children and police officers, were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting different areas in central and southern Gaza over the past 24 hours, amid accusations that Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement that has been in place since October.

Medical sources reported that four Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Sunday after an Israeli drone strike targeted a house in the Al-Sawariha area in central Gaza. According to the sources, the strike destroyed the house and killed the victims instantly. The area targeted lies outside Israeli-controlled zones, although Israeli forces are still reported to control more than half of the Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, eight Palestinian police officers, including a senior security official, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted their vehicle on Salah al-Din Street near the entrance to the town of Al-Zawayda in central Gaza. Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security said the victims included Colonel Iyad Abu Youssef, director of the Intervention Police in the central governorate, along with seven officers who were traveling with him.

The ministry stated that the strike was part of a series of Israeli air raids carried out across several areas of the Gaza Strip in recent hours, amid escalating field tensions and continued aerial bombardment.

Local sources also reported that three members of the same family were killed after a strike targeted the Al-Sawariha area in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The victims were identified as Kamel Ayyash, his wife Halima Ayyash, and their son Ahmed. Later, the death of Wafi Talal Ibrahim Al-Dasouqi was also announced after he succumbed to injuries sustained in a previous strike in Khan Younis.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, at least ten civilians were killed within the past 24 hours as a result of Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling that hit multiple locations across the enclave, including Gaza City, Khan Younis, and the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos at one of the strike sites, saying a missile struck the police vehicle directly before another missile hit nearly the same location, injuring a young girl who was passing nearby and causing casualties in the street.
These developments come as authorities in Gaza accuse Israel of continuing to breach the ceasefire agreement through ongoing shelling and gunfire in eastern parts of the territory.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that the death toll since October 7, 2023, has risen to 72,239 people, with 171,861 others injured as military operations in the Gaza Strip continue.

By Salma Kaddoumi