Gaza strikes kill five police, three others in two attacks

Israeli airstrikes killed at least eight Palestinians on Sunday, including five police officers, in two separate attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to medics and the Hamas-run interior ministry.

The interior ministry stated that the five officers died in a strike on western Khan Younis in the south. Medics reported that three people were killed in a different airstrike in Gaza City. The Israeli military confirmed it targeted several militants in Khan Younis but provided no immediate comment on the Gaza City attack.

Israel has increased its strikes on Hamas in recent weeks, citing evidence that the militant group is rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire. Hamas denies rebuilding its arsenal or planning attacks and accuses Israel of undermining the peace deal.

The US-brokered ceasefire signed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory. Negotiators have failed to agree on terms for Hamas disarmament or an Israeli troop withdrawal. Israeli forces currently control about two-thirds of the enclave, where they have ordered residents to leave.

Nearly all of the more than 2 million residents live in the remaining third of the territory, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings under Hamas control. Health officials say at least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have died in the same period.

Palestinian authorities report that more than 74,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza since it began following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led fighters in southern Israel.