Israeli strike kills three Hamas policemen in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike killed three policemen east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Hamas-run interior ministry said, calling it a breach of the fragile January 19 ceasefire.

It said the policemen were deployed in the area to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.

“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,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli military said the strike targeted several armed individuals who were moving toward forces deployed near the area and “hits were identified”.

It called on all residents of Gaza to adhere to army instructions and refrain from approaching Israeli troops deployed in the area.

Earlier, Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov arrived at a release site in Gaza on Saturday after Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped avert a standoff that threatened to sink a fragile ceasefire.

The three were led onto a stage with fighters armed with automatic rifles standing on each side of them at the site in Khan Younis, live footage showed.

The three are being returned in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, a swap which eases fears that the agreement could collapse before the end of a 42-day ceasefire.

In what has become known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, people broke into cheers and tears when they heard the Red Cross was on its way to deliver the three to Israeli forces in Gaza.

They appeared relieved to see the three were in apparently better condition than another three freed last week who appeared emaciated and weak.

Dekel-Chen, a U.S.-Israeli, Troufanov, a Russian Israeli, and Horn, whose brother Eitan was also abducted, were seized in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities around the Gaza Strip that was overrun by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023.

Dozens of armed fighters were deployed at the site of the release.

Some Hamas fighters at the site are carrying rifles seized from the Israeli military during the October 7 attack, Hamas sources said.