ANKARA

Three Palestinian police officers were killed on Sunday by Israeli shelling in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire agreement, according to official Palestinian sources.

In a statement, the Gaza Interior Ministry announced the casualties, noting that the officers were deployed to secure the entry of humanitarian aid in the Al-Shawka area, east of Rafah, when they were targeted.

The ministry strongly condemned the attack and called on “mediators and the international community to pressure the (Israeli) occupation to halt its targeting of the police force, which is a civilian body responsible for maintaining public security and organizing daily affairs.”

Israeli shelling kills 3 Palestinian police officers securing entry of aid in southern Gaza https://t.co/m3Ho1qcl9e pic.twitter.com/vdiyCBiZuJ

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) February 16, 2025

The Palestinian police officers were deployed to secure the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave as part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Palestinian officials have complained that Israel is failing to abide by the part of the agreement to let in more humanitarian aid.

Palestinian resistance group Hamas denounced the Israeli attack as a "serious violation" of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“Israel's delay in launching negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza agreement exposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to obstruct the deal and return to aggression and further acts of genocide,” it said in a statement.

Hamas called on mediators to “fulfill their responsibilities by forcing Israel to halt its violations.”

The Israeli army, for its part, claimed that the attack targeted Palestinian fighters approaching its forces in the area.

A ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.