Palestinian Officials say Israeli Airstrike Has Killed 18 People in Gaza

Palestinian officials said that Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 18 people in the Southern and Central Gaza Strip, including three children and two high-ranking officers in the Hamas-run police force.

One of the strikes early Thursday hit a tent in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone known as Muwasi, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in tents during the cold and rainy winter.

It killed three children, three women and four men, according to the Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

Among the dead were Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Salah, general director of the Gaza police, and his deputy, Brig. Gen. Hossam Shahwan, according to hospital records.

In central Gaza, eight were killed in Salah al Deen street, the dead were members of local committees that help secure aid convoys, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about the strikes.

The Hamas-run government in Gaza included tens of thousands of police who maintained a high level of public order before the outbreak of the war.

The police have largely vanished from the streets in many areas after being targeted by Israel, contributing to the breakdown of law and order that has hindered the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid.

But residents say plainclothes Hamas security men still patrol much of the territory, and the group has faced no significant internal challenge nearly 15 months into the devastating war sparked by its Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel.

Hamas-led militants 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 over 45,500 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.