An Israeli air strike targeting a Palestinian police post in northern Gaza killed at least five officers yesterday and wounded others, Gaza police said, as Israel steps up attacks on the Hamas-run force.
In a statement, the Gaza police directorate, charged with maintaining security in areas of Gaza that fell under Hamas control following a US-brokered ceasefire in October, said two missiles had hit a police post in the Tawam area.
Hamas’ nearly 10,000 police officers have emerged as a sticking point in talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.
Hamas wants them included in a new police force envisaged under the plan.
Israel objects to the involvement of any officers with Hamas affiliations.
Those talks have also been deadlocked over Hamas’ refusal to lay down its weapons, as well as near-daily Israeli attacks in the enclave, which health officials say have killed more than 880 Palestinians since the truce. At least four Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.
France has decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said yesterday, adding that this reflected growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza.
“As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory,” Barrot wrote on X.
“Along with my Italian counterpart, I am asking the European Union to also take sanctions against Ben-Gvir.”
Western governments expressed outrage after Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself taunting activists who had intended to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza being pinned to the ground.
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