Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza City
Gaza City, Jul 26: An Israeli airstrike on Saturday killed Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, the head of the Hamas-led police force in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run interior ministry and local medics.
Maqadma, who also served as the governor of northern Gaza, was killed in the Sheikh Radwan area, north of Gaza City. The Israeli military said he was also a member of Hamas' military wing.
Israel has killed several members of the Hamas-led police force in recent months, alleging that many of them were part of the group's armed wing and posed an imminent threat to Israeli forces operating in Gaza.
Hamas has accused Israel of targeting the police force to create chaos and undermine civil administration in the enclave, claiming the attacks violate the US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect in October.
In separate incidents on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian medic in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, while a police officer who had been injured in an earlier Israeli strike died of his wounds, according to medical officials.
Another strike on a house in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed two people. The Israeli military said the attack targeted a militant belonging to the Islamic Jihad group.
Later in the day, another Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis killed high school student Khaled Al-Breim. According to his relatives, he was carrying sweets to distribute among family members and friends who had gathered to congratulate him after completing high school and preparing to begin university.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the student's death.
According to Gaza health officials, more than 1,180 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the October ceasefire took effect. Hamas has not disclosed the number of its members killed during the period.
Although the ceasefire halted large-scale fighting, near-daily Israeli airstrikes have continued. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed by militants in Gaza since the truce began.
Mediators, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States, continue efforts to advance a ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the conflict through Hamas' disarmament and the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, but little progress has been reported.
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. Gaza health authorities say Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians.
Israeli forces are estimated to control about 64 per cent of the Gaza Strip, while nearly all of the territory's two million residents have been displaced and are living in overcrowded shelters, tents or damaged buildings amid severe humanitarian conditions.