Israel kills nine in Gaza police station bombing

Israeli air strikes killed at least nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza City on Wednesday, in the latest escalation as mediators push to advance the fragile ceasefire.

Gaza’s Police Department said Israeli fighter jets dropped several bombs on the Gaza Governorate Municipalities Police Headquarters.

Paramedics said at least nine people were killed and others wounded and local media reported that several senior police officers were among those killed.

The Police officials described the attack as a “brutal massacre”. Gaza’s Ministry of Interior said Israel was seeking to spread chaos in the territory by targeting the police force.

Israel's latest killings came a day after an air strike hit a cafe in Gaza City, killing at least seven people, including a child.

Tuesday’s strike was the deadliest single attack in Gaza in weeks.

The escalation comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US special envoy Jared Kushner earlier this week to discuss efforts to advance the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

Kushner’s visit to the region included a stop in Egypt, where he met Hamas leaders.

Hamas said last month that it had agreed to gradually disarm and advance the ceasefire agreement signed in October, in exchange for a complete cessation of Israeli strikes and a full withdrawal from Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian movement said Israel’s latest attacks showed that Netanyahu was seeking to undermine the talks.

The October ceasefire was intended to end Israel’s two-year genocide on Gaza, during which Israeli forces killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and destroyed around 90 percent of homes across the territory.

Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, with near-daily air strikes and a continuing siege on Gaza.

Since the ceasefire was signed, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including at least 300 children.