Israeli strike kills three Palestinian police officers in Gaza, Interior ministry says
The Interior Ministry said the three policemen who were killed had been deployed to the area to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza
An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian police officers east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said, calling it a breach of the fragile ceasefire that took effect on Jan. 19.
Palestinian officials said Israel was also violating the truce terms by blocking the entry of equipment to clear the rubble and shelters for displaced people in the enclave. Patients were also being stopped from leaving for hospital treatment in Egypt, they said.
The Interior Ministry said the three policemen who were killed had been deployed to the area to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.
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"The ministry ... condemns this crime and calls upon the mediators and the international community to compel the occupation to stop targeting the police force, which is a civil apparatus," it said in a statement.
Israel's military said the strike had targeted several armed individuals who were moving towards Israeli forces deployed nearby and "hits were identified".
It called on Gaza residents to adhere to army instructions and refrain from approaching Israeli troops in the area.
In Gaza, a health ministry official said Israel had prevented the departure of dozens of patients and wounded Palestinians, who were supposed to leave for treatment at hospitals in neighbouring Egypt.
The official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Israel had not given permission for them to pass through the Rafah border crossing.
There was no immediate Israeli response to the health official's comments.
Head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office Salama Marouf said Israel was still blocking the entry of mobile homes being brought in to shelter tens of thousands of displaced Gazans and heavy machinery to clear rubble and open roads.
"This refusal shows the world who is obstructing the (ceasefire) agreement, necessitating the intervention and pressure from the guarantor mediators to ensure the occupation fulfills its commitments," Marouf said.
Israel has denied criticism by Hamas on the issue and says it has facilitated the entry of shelter materials.
On Monday, Hamas said it would suspend the release of hostages unless Israel adhered to the humanitarian protocol, which also included permitting mobile houses and heavy machinery.
It later retracted and freed the hostages as planned on Saturday, citing assurances by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt that the needed materials would come through.
