Israeli forces assassinate Gaza’s police chief and massacre dozens of civilians in a deadly new wave of aggression.
The Israeli military assassinated Major General Mahmoud Salah, the Director General of Police in Gaza, and Major General Hussam Shahwan, a senior officer in the Police Command Council, in a raid on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis on Thursday.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza denounced the killings as a heinous crime. In a statement, it accused the Israeli occupation of spreading chaos and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
The statement noted that Major General Salah and Major General Shahwan were assassinated while performing their humanitarian and national duties, serving the Palestinian people amidst catastrophic conditions caused by relentless Israeli aggression.
PALESTINIAN MEDIA: 11 displaced Palestinians were killed and others were injured, as a result of the Israeli occupation forces targeting their tents in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/UXo7nIN56R
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 2, 2025
According to the ministry, Major General Salah had been a cornerstone of Gaza’s police force since its establishment 30 years ago, working tirelessly to maintain security in the besieged Strip.
Al-Jazeera reported that another 10 Palestinians were killed when tents housing displaced families in Al-Mawasi were bombed. Among the victims were four children and three women, who were reportedly killed as they slept.
Additional strikes in the village of Bani Suhaila, south of Khan Yunis, reportedly claimed two more lives.
Al-Jazeera also reported that the death toll from a raid on Jabaliya Al-Balad in northern Gaza has risen to 10.
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Gaza City also endured heavy bombardment, with 20 people killed in just two hours. The strikes targeted areas including Al-Shati Camp, Al-Rimal, and Al-Shaaf.
Seven Palestinians were also killed east of Deir al-Balah in the central Strip.
Since October 5, the northern areas of Gaza, including Jabaliya refugee camp, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, have been subjected to an intense Israeli offensive.
This campaign has killed approximately 4,000 Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands.
Meanwhile, Civil Defense teams in Gaza are struggling to respond to the devastation.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Civil Defense, stated that Israeli forces have actively hindered rescue operations, threatening and arresting crew members. Despite these threats, rescue teams persist under perilous conditions.
The health crisis in Gaza is also escalating. Dr. Marwan Al-Hamas, director of field hospitals for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, reported that eight people, including seven infants, died due to freezing temperatures.
He warned that the Strip faces extreme shortages of food, medicine, and shelter, leaving many to starve or succumb to the cold.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,553 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,379 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, AJA)
