At least eight Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

At least eight Palestinians, including a four-year-old boy, have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.

An Israeli drone attack killed five Palestinian police officers and wounded several people in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza on Sunday.

Israeli forces had targeted a number of police officers while they were “performing their routine duties”, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security.

The ministry condemned the “horrific massacre” and called on the international community “to take urgent action and exert pressure” on Israel to stop its killing of policemen.

It said in a statement at least 75 police officers and security personnel have been killed by Israel since the “ceasefire” with Hamas came into effect in October last year.

The Israeli army meanwhile claimed that its attack was targeting “a terrorist” in southern Gaza.

Separately, in northern Gaza, at least three Palestinians, including a four-year-old boy, were killed in a drone attack on Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, sources at al-Shifa Hospital said. The Taj Mall was also targeted.

Another person died on Sunday from wounds sustained during a previous attack.

“It’s hard to remember a day gone by when we haven’t reported on deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City.

“In the last couple of hours, a group of law enforcement officers patrolling al-Mawasi … to protect displaced civilians was targeted. Five policemen were killed instantly.

“An hour on from that attack … in the heart of Gaza City, three people were reported killed – including a father and his three-year-old son – who were walking down Revolution Street,” he said, adding that Israeli attacks have not stopped despite the so-called “ceasefire” in place for more than a year.

Hamas on Sunday condemned the latest Israeli attacks as a “deliberate war crime”.

In a statement, it denounced the “horrific massacre” that targeted a group of police officers as well as the “bombardment of Gaza City” that killed and wounded civilians.

The deliberate and repeated targeting of police officers while they perform their duties is part of Israel’s “attempt to obstruct recovery efforts, undermine stability in the Gaza Strip, and sow chaos”, the statement said, adding that “international silence and the failure to confront these horrific crimes only embolden the occupation”.

“This is yet another chapter in the ongoing series of Zionist atrocities against our Palestinian people … a continuation of the genocidal war whose tragic unfolding our people are still enduring,” Hamas said.

Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza, despite a US-brokered “ceasefire” taking effect last October, killing more than 1,500 people since then.

At least 74,594 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war in October 2023, in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.