7 martyred in Israeli attack on police HQ

Seven Palestinian policemen affiliated to the Gaza-based Palestinian government were martyred and 13 others injured in an Israeli helicopter attack on the police headquarters in eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon.

 

Muawiya Hassanein, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian health, ministry named the victims as Raefat Qdeih, Ahmad Musbih, Abdul-Nasir Abu Nasr, Mu'taz Abu Shahla, Sami Abu Sa'adah and Rami Abu Younis.

 

He also said that six of those injured were taken to the European hospital in Khan Younis. Three of them are seriously injured.

 

Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli raid came as the police officers were conducting afternoon prayers. Local Palestinian residents took the victims to hospital in private cars.

 

Separately, four other policemen affiliated to the Hamas government were injured as the Israeli naval squadron targeted a headquarters affiliated to the Palestinian coastal police in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

 

Palestinian medical sources said three of the wounded sustained moderate injured.

 

For his part, the spokesperson of the government's interior ministry Eyhab Al-Ghusayn said that the ministry has declared a state of emergency and ordered partial evacuation of all police headquarters in the Gaza Strip.

 

He told Ma'an, "The Israeli occupation was sending a message to the interior ministry telling them that the Israelis want security services which protect the occupation rather than protecting the resistance. However, we are announcing from the outset that our goal is to protect the Palestinian resistance and that is why the Israelis target the security services."