Israeli airstrikes killed at least 43 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including 11 people in a tent encampment housing displaced families, doctors said.
They said the 11 people included women and children from Al-Mawasi district, which was designated as a humanitarian zone for civilians at the start of the war between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group, which is now in its 15th month.
The director general of the Gaza police, Mahmoud Salah, and his assistant, Hussam Shahwan, were killed in the strike, according to the Gaza Interior Ministry.
“By committing the crime of assassinating the Director General of Police of the Gaza Strip, the occupation continues to sow chaos in the region. [enclave] and aggravate the human suffering of citizens,” he added in a statement.
The Israeli military said it carried out an intelligence-based strike in Al-Mawasi, just west of the town of Khan Younis, and eliminated Shahwan, calling him the head of Hamas security forces in southern Gaza . There is no mention of Salah’s death.
Other Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 Palestinians, including six at the Interior Ministry headquarters in Khan Younis and others in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, the Shati (Beach) camp and the Maghazi camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants who, according to intelligence, operated from a command and control center “integrated inside the Khan Younis municipality building, in the humanitarian zone.”
“Earlier this year, we received reports of another attack on Al-Mawasi, with dozens of people killed and injured. Another reminder that there is no humanitarian zone and yet less “safety zone”. [in Gaza]” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in an article on X.
“Every day without a ceasefire will lead to more tragedies.”
Asked about the death toll announced Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson said it respected international law in its war in Gaza and had taken “possible precautions to mitigate harm to civilians.” .
Later Thursday, separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people on Jala Street in downtown Gaza and two in the Zeitoun neighborhood, medics said.
The Israeli military has accused Gaza militants of using built-up residential areas as cover. Hamas denies this.
Islamic Jihad, Hamas’s smallest ally, said Thursday it had fired rockets at Kibbutz Holit in southern Israel, near Gaza. The Israeli army said it had intercepted a projectile in the area coming from southern Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians during the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced and much of the small, heavily built-up coastal territory lies in ruins.
The war was sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli counts. Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, also took part in the assault.
A hostage attempted suicide
An Israeli hostage held by the Gaza Islamic Jihad militant group attempted suicide, the movement’s military wing spokesman said in a video posted on Telegram on Thursday.
One of the group’s medical teams intervened and prevented his death, added the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, without giving more details on the identity or current state of the hostage.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said the hostage attempted suicide three days ago due to his psychological state, without giving further details.
Abu Hamza accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of setting new conditions that led to the “failure and delay” of negotiations for the hostage’s release.
The man was to be released with other hostages under the conditions of the first stage of an exchange deal with Israel, Abu Hamza said. He did not say when the man was to be released or under what deal.
Efforts by Arab mediators, backed by the United States, have so far failed to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, part of a possible deal that would also see the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the freedom of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
The armed wing of Islamic Jihad took the decision to strengthen security measures for the hostages, Abu Hamza added.
In July, Islamic Jihad’s military wing said some Israeli hostages attempted suicide after it began treating them the same way Israel treated Palestinian prisoners.
“We will continue to treat Israeli hostages in the same way that Israel treats our prisoners,” Abu Hamza said at the time. Israel has rejected accusations that it mistreats Palestinian prisoners.
