Hamas police chief among 18 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including three children and two leading officers in the Hamas-run police force, Palestinian and hospital officials said.

One strike hit a tent in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone known as Muwasi, near the southern city of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in tents during the winter. Three children, three women and four men died, according to the Nasser hospital that received the bodies, while 15 others were injured.

Hamas police chief Mahmoud Salah and his deputy Hassam Shahwan were killed while “performing their humanitarian and national duty”, the Hamas-run interior ministry said.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed it had carried out a strike targeting Shahwan, who it said had helped Hamas’s military wing plan attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza.

A separate airstrike in the central Gaza Strip killed at least eight people, including members of committees that help secure aid convoys, said Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.

The latest deadly airstrikes come as the war between Israel and Hamas hits the 15-month mark with little tangible progress on a ceasefire agreement.

The war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas-led militants launched an attack on southern Israel. They killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 that day. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, who say women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.

The IDF has claimed its strikes only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths. The Israeli army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has caused devastating damage to Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million.