5 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza amid ceasefire violations

Five Palestinians, including a police officer, were killed, and several others injured Wednesday evening in Israeli airstrikes targeting civilian gatherings and a police vehicle in northern and southern Gaza despite an ongoing ceasefire, according to medical sources.

A Palestinian was killed and several others, including three children, were injured in an Israeli attack on a group of civilians in the al-Daraj neighborhood east of Gaza City, one source said.

The source at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital told Anadolu that one body and several wounded people arrived at the hospital after a strike targeted Palestinians near the Jabalia bus station intersection in al-Daraj.

Three more Palestinians from the same family were killed and others injured in an Israeli strike targeting a group of civilians in the Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, another medical source said.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the attack hit the family members near Salah al-Din Mosque in Zeitoun while they were attempting to set up a tent in the area.

In southern Gaza, the Interior Ministry said a policeman was killed in an Israeli strike on a police vehicle in Khan Younis as it was passing through the crowded al-Mawasi area, which is packed with displaced Palestinians. Several bystanders were injured in the attack, witnesses said.

Israel has recently intensified strikes targeting police personnel in the enclave, with Palestinian authorities accusing it of deliberately attacking the force to deepen and prolong the security chaos.

In previous statements, Gaza's Interior Ministry held Israel "fully responsible" for targeting "police headquarters, capabilities, and personnel," describing the continued attacks as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

The ministry said there was "no justification" for targeting police officers in Gaza, stressing that the force provides civilian services in the territory.

It also urged mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire to intervene urgently and pressure Israel to stop targeting the police force.

The ministry also described the silence of international organizations as "complicity with the Israeli occupation that encourages further crimes against a civilian body protected under international law."

The attacks come amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since Oct. 10, 2025. Israeli attacks and gunfire since then have killed 824 Palestinians and injured 2,316 since the deal was signed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The agreement was reached after two years of a genocidal war launched by Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, which left more than 72,000 Palestinians dead, over 172,000 injured, and caused massive destruction to 90% of civilian infrastructure in Gaza.