Israeli airstrikes target Gaza police chief, kill at least 54
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 54 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on January 2nd, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat via Reuters.
This includes 11 people, among them women and children, in the Al-Mawasi district, just west of the city of Khan Younis. This designated humanitarian zone contains tent encampments sheltering displaced families.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Interior Ministry, Mahmoud Salah, the director general of Gaza’s police department, was killed in the strike along with his aide, Hussam Shahwan. In an official statement, the ministry said: “By committing the crime of assassinating the director general of police in the Gaza Strip, the occupation is insisting on spreading chaos in the [enclave] and deepening the human suffering of citizens.”
The Israeli military said their intelligence-based strike in Al-Mawasi had eliminated the “head of Hamas security forces in southern Gaza,” referring to Shahwan. However, they made no mention of Salah’s death.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said on X: “As the year begins, we got reports of yet another attack on Al-Mawasi with dozens of people killed, another reminder that there is no humanitarian zone, let alone a safe zone, [in Gaza].”
“Every day without a ceasefire will bring more tragedy,” added the UNRWA head.
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Other Israeli airstrikes across the Strip killed at least 43 Palestinians, including six in the Interior Ministry headquarters in Khan Younis.
Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas fighters who, intelligence indicated, were operating in a command-and-control center “embedded inside the Khan Younis municipality building in the humanitarian area.”
The attacks also struck north Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, the Shati (Beach) camp, and central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.
Medics reported that separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people in downtown Gaza City and two in its Zeitoun district.
In response to the January 2nd reported death toll, an Israeli spokesperson said Israel had followed international law in waging the war in Gaza and that it took “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Gaza fighters of using built-up residential areas for cover. Hamas denies this.
The war in Gaza was waged in response to Hamas’ October 7th cross-border attack on southern Israel. According to Israeli tallies, the attack killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza.
Since October 7th, Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population have been internally displaced.
Asharq Al-Awsat
