Israeli Airstrike Kills Gaza Police Colonel

Palestinian medics and Hamas sources said Wednesday that a senior Gaza Interior Ministry officer was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Colonel Naseem al-Kalazani of the police force was killed in a targeted attack on his vehicle near al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis city in the besieged southern Gaza Strip. At least 17 others were wounded in the attack.

Al-Kalazani was the head of anti-narcotics forces in Khan Younis, according to Hamas sources.

The same day, Israel intensified its strikes, killing at least three Palestinians near Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, raising the day's death toll to at least four, health officials at al-Ahli Arab Hospital said. Israel had no immediate comment on any of the attacks.

Violence in Gaza persists despite a U.S.-brokered "ceasefire" that took effect last October. Israel continues to launch near-daily attacks on Palestinians, as both Israel and Hamas blame each other for violations. According to local medics, at least 830 Palestinians have been killed during the "ceasefire," while Israel says Hamas has killed four of its soldiers in the same period.

Israel says its strikes aim to prevent Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups from attacking its forces. Israel's security cabinet met early this week to discuss resuming the war, amid growing pressure from the military, after Hamas refused to comply with Israel's demand for full disarmament.

Hamas has made a counter-offer, stressing that its weapons should only be addressed within a framework toward establishing a Palestinian state. Hamas also demanded Israel stop expanding its control in Gaza and increase aid there.

Despite a slight increase in aid into Gaza since the reopening of the Zikim crossing, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate. More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023.