Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, head of the Hamas-led police in northern Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Sheikh Radwan, officials said. Separate strikes that day killed at least five more Palestinians, including a medic and a high school graduate, Khaled Al-Breim, who relatives say was delivering sweets to celebrate finishing school. Hamas says Israel is deliberately targeting the police force; Gaza's health ministry reports more than 1,180 Palestinians killed since the October ceasefire, while Israel reports four soldiers killed in the same period.
Israeli Airstrike Kills Head Of Hamas-Led Police In Northern Gaza; Several Palestinians Die In Separate Strikes
Rescuers carry the body of a victim amid the debris of Sheikh Radwan police station in Gaza City, following an Israeli air strike [File: AFP]
Brigadier-General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma, the head of the Hamas-led police force in northern Gaza and former governor of the area, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, local officials and medics said. The strike took place in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood north of Gaza City, and the Israeli military said Al-Maqadma had ties to Hamas' military wing.
Other Fatalities Reported
Officials said additional strikes that day killed at least five more Palestinians. A medic was killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp, and two people died inside a house in Khan Younis; Israel's military said that particular house was targeted to hit a member of the Islamic Jihad group.
Later on Saturday, a separate airstrike in Khan Younis killed a high school graduate, identified as Khaled Al-Breim. Relatives said he was delivering sweets to relatives and friends who had gathered at his family home to congratulate him after finishing high school and preparing to start university.
A sixth fatality reported on Saturday was a policeman who had been wounded by an Israeli strike the previous week and died from his injuries.
Wider Context
Israeli forces say they have increasingly targeted members of the Hamas-led police because many are linked to Hamas' armed wing and represent an active threat. Hamas accuses Israel of deliberately targeting the police force to destabilize the Gaza enclave and has called the strikes a breach of the US-brokered ceasefire reached in October.
Since the ceasefire agreement was signed, Gaza's health ministry reports that more than 1,180 Palestinians — mostly civilians — have been killed in Israeli strikes. Over the same period Israeli military sources say four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza. Independent verification of some claims and casualty figures is limited because of restricted access to the area.
Sources: Hamas-run interior ministry; Gaza medics; Gaza Health Ministry; Israeli military statements.
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