Israeli strike kills 5 Gaza police officers, child

GAZA CITY: An Israeli strike killed five police officers and a child in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, said rescuers and the Palestinian territory’s police force, which operates under Hamas authority.

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported six people killed and “a certain number of injured” after an airstrike targeted a police site in the al-Tuam area.

The al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed that it received six bodies, which included those of five police officers and one child born in 2011.

An AFP correspondent there saw at least three bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

The police force in Gaza said five of its officers were killed, adding that two missiles had been fired on the police site in al-Tuam.

A witness said the attack targeted a tent used by police, located next to a checkpoint.

An Israeli military source told AFP the army had targeted “Hamas terrorists” in the area.

A ceasefire has been in place since October, but Israel reserves the right to strike targets it deems a threat.

Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue, with both the military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.

The Hamas government’s interior ministry said 42 police officers have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire took effect.

In a statement, Hamas denounced what it described as “a crime” against police officers intended “to spread chaos in the Gaza Strip”.

At least 890 Palestinians have been killed since the Oct 10 ceasefire, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

Media restrictions and limited access in Gaza have prevented AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or freely covering the fighting.

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